Neel Patel Selected for Australia's U19 Cricket Tour of India
Neel Patel Joins Australia's U19 Squad
File image of Indian origin batter Neel Patel(Photo: @CricketNSW/X)
Melbourne, August 3: Neel Patel, a cricketer of Indian descent, has been included in the Australian Under-19 men's team for an upcoming multi-format series in India. The squad, consisting of 16 players, will be led by fast bowlers Will Byrom and Kasey Barton during their tour next month.
The itinerary features three 50-over matches and two four-day games against the India Under-19 team, set to take place in Rajkot and Ahmedabad.
Playing for the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Cricket Club, Neel made headlines as one of the youngest players to surpass 1000 runs in Sydney Premier Cricket First Grade within a single calendar year at just 16 years old.
Byrom and Barton are the only squad members who participated in the U19 World Cup earlier this year in Zimbabwe, where Byrom excelled with 10 wickets at an average of 10.50, while Barton contributed four wickets. Unfortunately, the Australian team was eliminated by England in the semi-finals, losing by 27 runs.
Sonya Thompson, Cricket Australia's Head of National Development, expressed enthusiasm about providing young talents with opportunities for growth. She emphasized that touring India and competing against high-caliber opponents in challenging conditions will be a significant experience, testing the players both technically and mentally across various formats.
Additionally, a CA Development squad arrived in Chennai on Saturday for the annual MRF Academy Program, which includes several state regulars and recent Australian T20I debutant Joel Davies among the 12-member team, as reported by cricket.com.au.
The program will consist of two multi-day matches scheduled for August 5-6 and August 10-11, taking place on pitches conducive to spin bowling.
Australia U19 squad: Kasey Barton, Hayden Barbulovi, Eli Brain, Will Byrom, Blake Cattle, Jack Czosnek, Spencer Green, Connor Gregory, Charlie Henderson, Zed Hollick, Matthew Lough, Neel Patel, Jacob Pietz, Patrick Sullivan, Theo Tsingos, Thomas Vaseo.