The upcoming 16-team tournament will be held from January 18 to February 2 in Malaysia, with India entering as defending champions after winning the inaugural edition in 2023 in South Africa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It was a fantastic success. It was very much a commitment to equity between the men\u2019s tournament and the women's tournament but also a leap of faith. Countries were still maturing in how developed their women\u2019s and junior pathways were so it was a chance to see the work that the countries have been putting in over the last few years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"Having 16 teams was a fantastic starting point in the first place and this will drive more progress in those countries. The ambition was around opportunity and quality. Having this Under-19 tournament meant there was parity between the men\u2019s and women\u2019s events.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"You had a men\u2019s and women\u2019s 50-over World Cup, a men\u2019s and women's T20 World Cup and a men\u2019s and women\u2019s Under-19 World Cup as well. The fact that parity existed was a big statement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"The other part was opportunity, because the ambitions were that this tournament being in existence would drive change in member countries. It would build the junior pathways in those countries and that\u2019s exactly what we saw,\" said Snehal in a statement issued by the ICC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The tournament was initially scheduled to be played in January 2021 in Bangladesh, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the tournament pushed to 2023, with the venue being South Africa. It meant the country hosted two women\u2019s events in the country, as it was followed by 2023 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup in February.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It aligned that South Africa got the opportunity to host two back-to-back global women\u2019s events. That is probably a unique opportunity for the country. It created momentum with the Under-19 World Cup starting to create awareness around women\u2019s cricket in the country, that was capitalised upon with the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup that followed, which culminated in that sell-out crowd in Newlands, in a market where women\u2019s cricket had never been ticketed before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"So, the whole thing came together really well, even though it came together much later and in a different place than originally planned. I have to give credit to those who came before me at the ICC. The Under-19 tournament has been a tournament that has been in discussion for a number of years and so many people, primarily our events team and the board, who had the vision to commit to the tournament at this age, need to be acknowledged,\" added Snehal, who played six ODIs and four T20Is for India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 2023 U19 World Cup gave explosive opener Shafali Verma her first taste of captaining India to a first-ever world title in women\u2019s cricket alongside wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh. The tournament gave many a first chance to see Georgia Plimmer in action for New Zealand, who played a pivotal role in the senior team winning the 2024 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup in Dubai.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe positioning of the tournament across men\u2019s and women\u2019s is future stars because this is a tournament that allows a number of players to make their name at Under-19 level before going on to play high-level international senior cricket. This tournament provided an opportunity to give a few players who had already made their name in international cricket a platform to really step up as senior players in the team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFor someone like Shafali Verma, she got the chance to lead the team and get captaincy experience, which she wouldn\u2019t be close to at senior level, that was fantastic. The fact that she was able to lead India to the first ICC trophy on the women\u2019s side was icing on the cake as far as the storyline. It\u2019s huge for the tournament to be able to produce stars but also have stars coming in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It\u2019s such a great story and probably a great advertisement of how important this tournament is in the pathway. It\u2019s fair to say that Georgia Plimmer, if she hadn\u2019t had the opportunity on the international stage that she got with New Zealand, may not have been fast-tracked into the senior team as quickly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"The international exposure that they get, the fact that they get the experience of what a global event feels like, helps them settle down a bit more quickly in the senior side. They have been there before, and so for players like her, Milly Illingworth, who had a great WBBL season, for Theertha Satish of the UAE, who had a great tournament as well, she\u2019s one of those who is now making a very big impact in the senior squad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"It\u2019s such a great story and probably a great advertisement of how important this tournament is in the pathway. It\u2019s fair to say that Georgia Plimmer, if she hadn\u2019t had the opportunity on the international stage that she got with New Zealand, may not have been fast-tracked into the senior team as quickly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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