Under-19 Asia Cup: defending champions Pakistan face UAE in opener on Friday

MUSCAT: The ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2026 will begin in Oman on Thursday 5 November. Defending champions Pakistan will play their first match against the UAE on Friday 6 November at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Muscat.

The 50-over tournament has eight teams in two groups. Group A has Pakistan, the UAE, India and Nepal. Group B has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The top two teams from each group will play the semi-finals, scheduled for Thursday 12 November. The final will be played on Saturday 14 November.

Pakistan will face India in their second group match on Sunday 8 November. Their last group match is against Nepal on Tuesday 10 November.

The team will be led by Farhan Yousaf, who was also captain in the previous edition. In that edition, Pakistan beat India by 191 runs at the ICC Cricket Academy Ground in Dubai.

Speaking to PCB Digital, Farhan Yousaf said the team’s preparations were going well. He said the decision to send the team to Oman before the tournament had proved useful, as it gave the players a chance to understand the weather, the pitches and the playing conditions.

The captain said that, as defending champions, the team understood its responsibility and was not taking anything lightly. He said the players’ morale was high and the team had become stronger with the inclusion of new players.

The squad is Farhan Yousaf (captain), Abdul Qadir (wicketkeeper), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Raza, Hamza Zahoor (wicketkeeper), Hunain Abbas Dar, Hayyam Khan, Huzaifa Ahsan, Jahangir Bilal, Muhammad Huzaifa, Muhammad Siyam, Naqab Shafiq, Rizwanullah and Usman Khan.

Shahid Anwar is head coach and team manager. Rao Iftikhar Anjum is fast bowling coach, Zohaib Khan is spin bowling coach, Humayun Farhat is fielding coach, Obaidullah is physiotherapist, Abrar Ahmed is trainer and Ali Hamza is performance analyst.