Kamindu Mendis leads Sri

The Sri Lanka Under- 19 cricket team, led by Richmond College skipper and allrounder Kamindu Mendis, left the island for New Zealand to compete at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The tournament will take place from January 13 to February 3 where 16 teams is set to compete under four groups.

Sri Lanka is slotted in Group ‘D’ alongside Afghanistan, Ireland and Pakistan. Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies have been drafted in Group ‘A’ while Australia, India, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe are in Group ‘B’. Group ‘C’ includes Bangladesh, Canada, England and Namibia.

The tournament will take place across seven venues, namely Hagley Oval, Rangiora Oval, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln No. 3, John Davies Oval, Bay Oval and Cobham Oval.Sri Lanka will play their first tournament match on January 14 against Ireland at Cobham Oval where they will also play against Afghanistan on January 17 and Pakistan on January 19.

This will be 12th ICC Under- 19 Cricket World Cup since it was first played in 1988 in Australia. West Indies are the current title holders after they won the 2016 edition beating India by 5 wickets in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka will field a strong team under Mendis, inclusive of top performers from the local School Cricket competitions. Others in the squad are Dhananjaya Lakshan, Santhush Gunathilaka, Hasitha Boyagoda, Nawanidu Fer nando, Nipun Dananjaya, Ashen Bandara, Kishan Sanjula, Nishan Madushka, Jehan Daniel, Praveen Jayawickrama, Haren Buddila, Thisaru Rashmika, Kalana Perera and Nipun Malinga.