- A 15-player squad to represent Team USA has been named for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa next month
- USA Women’s Under 19s will make history by becoming the first Women’s cricket team to represent the United States at a Cricket World Cup and the first of any kind since the Men’s Under 19s team in 2010
- Geetika Kodali captains the squad, with Anika Kolan named as vice-captain with 5 non-traveling reserves also announced
USA Cricket is honored to announce the 15-player squad that will represent the United States of America in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup that gets underway in South Africa next month. The squad is captained by Geetika Kodali, and the coaching team is led by Shivnarine Chanderpaul with the USA facing a challenging Group A that features Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
The 15-player squad named today by the USA Women’s U19 National Selection Panel is accompanied by five non-traveling reserves who will be on stand-by in case of any replacements being required. 14 of the 15 players that recently toured the United Arab Emirates have been selected, with Taranum Chopra being the addition to that squad.
This ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup is the first-ever edition of what will be a biennial World Cup for the best young female cricketers around the world. Eleven ICC Full-Member nations gained automatic entry to the event: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe. The remaining five spots were filled by one team from each of the ICC’s five regions.
USA Cricket Board Member and Women and Girls Committee Chair, Nadia Gruny said, “This World Cup is the realization of a dream for these young players who will get the honor of being the first female cricketers to ever represent USA at any Cricket World Cup. Our squad represents a new generation of American cricketers and we’re most excited to see them display their brand of cricket as rising stars announcing themselves on the World stage. Coming off series wins this summer against West Indies U19s and the UAE U19s last month, our players have had some great preparation going into South Africa. We thank all of the girls, their parents, and the wider American cricket community for their unwavering support as the squad looks forward to taking on the challenges ahead. Congratulations to all of the players selected to represent Team USA.”
Interim Chair of the USA Women’s National Selection Panel, Ritesh Kadu said, “After a very pleasing tour of Dubai, the Selection Panel has now settled on our final squad to focus on its final preparation for this historic World Cup. There were some tough choices to be made in selecting the final 15 players, but this speaks volumes about the depth that we’ve developed within the Women and Girls game in the United States over the past two years. We showed throughout the year the kind of cricket that we are capable of playing and we are really looking forward to everyone representing the country to the best of their abilities in South Africa.”
USA Women’s Head Coach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul said, “After a brilliant tour of Dubai, we are focusing on final preparations for this historic World Cup for the players and for the USA. We showed throughout the year the kind of cricket that we can play. World Cups are incredibly special and we are really looking forward to representing the country on this fantastic platform.”
Team USA Women’s U19 Squad
Geetika Kodali (Captain)
Anika Kolan (WK) (Vice Captain)
Aditi Chudasama
Bhumika Bhadriraju
Disha Dhingra
Isani Vaghela
Jivana Aras
Laasya Mullapudi
Pooja Ganesh (WK)
Pooja Shah
Ritu Singh
Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni
Snigdha Paul
Suhani Thadani
Taranum Chopra
Reserves
Chetnaa Prasad
Kasturi Vedantham
Lisa Ramjit
Mitali Patwardhan
Tya Gonsalves
Head Coach: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Team Manager: John Aaron
Team Analyst: Rohaan Gosala
S&C/Assistant Coach: Burt Cockley
Physio/Medical: Dr. Audrey Adams
Assistant Team Manager: Joan Alexander-Serrano
Selection Panel: Ritesh Kadu (Interim Chair), Jyotsna Patel, Deepali Rokade
THE WORLD CUP
The 16-team ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup will be held between 7 January and 29 January 2023 in South Africa and is the first-ever age group ICC women’s event.
The 16 teams are divided into groups of four as below:
Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and USA
Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe
Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, and West Indies
Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa, and the UAE
The top three teams from each group will progress to the Super Six round, where teams will be pooled into two groups of six. Group 1 will comprise three teams from each of Groups A and D, while Group 2 will have three teams each from Groups B and C. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, which will both be played on 27 January. The final will take place on 29 January.
SCHEDULE
There will be 16 warm-up matches taking place on 9 and 11 January in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane.
The World Cup matches will take place in Benoni and Potchefstroom across four venues. USA’s three Group A fixtures are:
Saturday 14 January, 13:45 (local). Sri Lanka U19s Women v USA U19s Women, Willowmoore Park B Field, Benoni
Monday 16 January, 13:45 (local). Australia U19s Women v USA U19s Women, Willowmoore Park B Field, Benoni
Wednesday 18 January, 10:00 (local). Bangladesh U19s Women v USA U19s Women, Willowmoore Park B Field, Benoni
