New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided that for the upcoming Under-19 Cricket World Cup, the host country Sri Lanka will lose its right and the tournament will shift to South Africa, as per a report. The decision, communicated by the ICC, follows the suspension of the Sri Lankan cricket board due to alleged government interference.
South Africa has been a favourite for hosting U-19 World Cup events recently. The country hosted the inaugural edition of the Women’s U-19 World Cup in 2023 and the men’s U-19 World Cup in 2020 too.
The Sri Lankan parliament had unanimously passed a resolution, calling for the sacking of the country’s cricket governing body, with both the ruling and opposition parties supporting it.
The resolution passed by the Sri Lankan parliament amounted to government interference and that was enough ground for the ICC Board to suspend Sri Lanka’s membership.
As per a Cricbuzz report, the ICC in its ongoing meeting in Ahmedabad and was unmoved from its stance on the suspension of SLC. The report also stated that the cricket in the country will continue but since the suspension is there, the hosting rights have been snatched.
“It was a unanimous decision by the board that the suspension cannot be lifted. Cricket in the country will continue as normal,” a source close to the development was quoted as saying in the report.
ICC moves 2024 U-19 World Cup from Sri Lanka to South Africa. (Cricbuzz) pic.twitter.com/CFv3gx8XUb
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) November 21, 2023
This time 16 teams will participate in the Under-19 World Cup 2024. All are divided into 4 groups each. Group A consists of current champions India along with 2020 champions Bangladesh, Ireland and America. The young Indian side will play its first match against Bangladesh on 14 January. After this, the team will face America on January 18 and then Ireland on January 20.
let’s take a look at how teams are divided into four groups:
Group A: India, Bangladesh, Ireland, USA
Group B: England, South Africa, West Indies, Scotland
Group C: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Namibia
Group D: Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Nepal
Participating teams
Through automatic qualification: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe
