Two Sri Lankans named in Australia Men’s ICC U19 World Cup squad

Friday, 12 December 2025 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Naden Cooray

Nitesh Samuel

Naden Cooray and Nitesh Samuel from New South Wales have been named in the Australia Men’s Under-19 squad for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026.

Cricket Australia announced a 15-player squad for the tournament to be held in Namibia and Zimbabwe from 15 January to 6 February.

Apart from the two Sri Lankans, the squad features two players of Indian heritage (Aryan Sharma and John James) and one of Chinese origin (Alex Lee Young).

Australia enters the tournament as defending champions, with Oliver Peake appointed Captain.

The squad will be led by Head Coach Tim Nielsen, supported by Luke Butterworth and Travis Dean as Assistant Coaches.

Australia is placed in Group A alongside Ireland, Japan, and Sri Lanka. The team will arrive in Namibia in early January and play warm-up matches from 9-14 January.

Australia Men’s U19 squad:

Oliver Peake (C), Kasey Barton, Naden Cooray, Jayden Draper, Ben Gordon, Steven Hogan, Thomas Hogan, John James, Charles Lachmund, Will Malajczuk, Nitesh Samuel, Hayden Schiller, Aryan Sharma, William Taylor, Alex Lee Young.