The ICC U19 World Cup is happening in Thailand, where eight teams will be playing at AIT and TCG in Bangkok for the Division 2 Asia Qualifier.
The road to the next ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, happening in Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2026, begins on Sunday, February 25th in Bangkok at AIT and TCG. Just two weeks after the final match of the ICC U19 CWC 2024, where Australia U19s defeated India U19s by 79 runs in Benoni, South Africa, the busy cycle of international cricket kicks off again.
The Division 2 Asia Qualifier is the first step for teams to get into the 2026 U19 World Cup. There are five regions in cricket: Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia Pacific, and Europe. Teams from these regions will qualify for the big tournament, along with teams that already got in.
In this qualifier, eight teams will play 50-over matches. The goal is to get two spots in the Division 1 Asia Qualifier. Group A includes Bahrain, Thailand, Kuwait, and Malaysia, who will compete against each other. In Group B, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Bhutan will play against one another.
The top two teams from each group will make it to the semi-finals happening on March 3rd. The winners of these semi-finals will go head-to-head in the final at TCG on March 5th. Also, they’ll qualify for the Division 1 Asia Qualifier.
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The last time this event took place was in September and October 2022 in Oman. Singapore and Hong Kong were the two teams that made it to Division 1. Singapore won the final by five wickets.
After that, the Division 1 Asia Qualifier was held in Ajman, UAE. Six teams participated: Nepal, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Kuwait. They played against each other in a five-match league.
Nepal became champions by winning all their matches, earning them a spot in the main U19 Men World Cup held in South Africa recently.
The first set of matches started on Sunday, February 25th. Bahrain took on Thailand at TCG, while Kuwait clashed with Malaysia at AIT in Group A. The next day, Group B kicked off with Hong Kong facing Bhutan at TCG, and Oman playing against Saudi Arabia at AIT.
It’s a big deal for Thailand that the ICC picked Bangkok as a venue for the U19 Men’s World Cup qualification stage. Over the next ten days, there’s going to be lots of exciting junior cricket action.