ICC U19 World Cup: Pakistan Face USA In Final Warm-up Match On Jan 13

KEY POINTS

Pakistan is entering the tournament with high confidence.
Head Coach Shahid Anwar cites “unity, faith, and discipline” as the squad’s core values.
Pakistan will begin its World Cup campaign in Group C against England in Harare on Jan 16.

BULAWAYO: Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team will look for valuable match practice when they face the USA in their second and final warm-up fixture at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Tuesday.

The Pakistan colts, placed in Group C of the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, saw their first scheduled warm-up against Bangladesh on Saturday abandoned after only 36.3 overs of play in Masvingo.

To fine-tune their preparations, the squad underwent an intensive three-hour training session at the Queens Sports Club on Monday, focusing on net practice and fielding drills ahead of the clash with the USA.

The 16-team global tournament, co-hosted by Namibia and Zimbabwe, officially begins on January 15, with Pakistan starting their campaign against England in Harare on January 16.

Favourites with a winning pedigree

Pakistan arrives as one of the most in-form teams, having secured two significant titles in the lead-up.

They convincingly defeated arch-rivals India by 191 runs in Dubai to lift the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup and later triumphed over hosts Zimbabwe by nine wickets to win a tri-nation series.

These victories, coupled with their legacy as champions in 2004 and 2006, have bolstered the team’s confidence.

World Cup ambition

Talking with PCB Digital, head coach Shahid Anwar expressed strong belief in his squad’s preparedness and mentality.

He highlighted the winning momentum and the group’s inherent resilience as major assets.

“The players’ strong performances in the past have boosted their confidence, which is very encouraging,” Anwar stated.

“Our preparations are progressing well and everything has been planned with the objective of winning the World Cup.”

Praising the team’s character, he added, “One in-built quality in these boys is that they never give up and continue to fight till the last ball. The teamwork within the group is outstanding, unity, faith and discipline remain our core values.”

Anwar explained the coaching philosophy, focusing on harnessing individual strengths.

“The entire coaching staff works with the players individually, focusing on their natural strengths and enhancing their super strengths. If we continue to rely on our strengths against any opponent, I am confident we will achieve positive results.”

The warm-up against the USA represents the final opportunity for Pakistan’s young stars to adjust to conditions before their title challenge begins in earnest.

15-member squad: Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan (wk), Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas and Umar Zaib

Non-traveling reserves: Abdul Qadir, Farhanullah, Hassan Khan, Ibtisam Azhar and Mohammad Huzaifa

Support staff: Sarfaraz Ahmed (manager/mentor), Shahid Anwar (head coach/batting coach), Rao Iftikhar (bowling coach), Mansoor Amjad (fielding coach), Abrar Ahmed (trainer), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Dr Ali Aun (doctor), Ubaidullah (physio), Ali Hamza (analyst)