Samit Dravid, son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid, has been named in the national U-19 squad for the one-day and four-day games versus Australia to be held in September and October this year. Australia’s U-19 team’s tour will comprise three 50-over and two four-day games, with Puducherry and Chennai selected as the two venues.
Samit, a seam-bowling all-rounder, was in fine form for Karnataka in the Cooch Behar Trophy, accumulating 362 runs and taking 16 wickets. His highest score in the tournament was 98 versus Jammu and Kashmir. He also plucked two wickets in the final against Mumbai, helping his side win the tournament. In March this year, Samit also was a part of a two-day warm-up match between Karnataka State Cricket Association XI and Lancashire, an English county side, in Bengaluru.
Samit is presently plying his trade for Mysuru Warriors in the KSCA-run Maharaja T20 Trophy in Bengaluru. He has notched up 82 runs in seven innings at a strike-rate of 114, with a highest score of 33. He hasn’t bowled so far in the tournament. Incidentally, on the day the selectors named him in India’s U-19 squad, Warriors were scheduled to play in the last-four stage of the tournament.
Rahul had said this about his son: “I don’t coach my son Samit as it is difficult to play two roles (parent and coach). I am happy to be a father. I don’t know what I am doing in that role also,” the batting legend was quoted as saying on JioCinema.
The three one-day games between India U-19 and Australia U-19 will be held on September 21, 23 and 26, while the four-day games will take place from September 30 and October 7 respectively. The one-day side will be captained by Uttar Pradesh’s Mohd Amaan. Soham Patwardhan of Madhya Pradesh will lead the four-day side.
India U-19 50-over squad:
Rudra Patel (vc) (GCA), Sahil Parakh (MAHCA), Kartikeya KP (KSCA), Mohamed Amaan (capt) (UPCA), Kiran Chormale (MAHCA), Abhigyan Kundu (wk) (MCA), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (wk) (SCA), Samit Dravid (KSCA), Yudhajit Guha (CAB), Samarth N (KSCA), Nikhil Kumar (UTCA), Chetan Sharma (RCA), Hardik Raj (KSCA), Rohit Rajawat (MPCA), Mohammed Enaan (KCA)
India U-19 four-day squad
Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Bihar CA), Nitya Pandya (BCA), Vihan Malhotra (vc) (PCA), Soham Patwardhan (capt) (MPCA), Kartikeya KP (KSCA), Samit Dravid (KSCA), Abhigyan Kundu (wk) (MCA), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (wk) (SCA), Chetan Sharma (RCA), Samarth N (KSCA), Aditya Rawat (CAU), Nikhil Kumar (UTCA), Anmoljeet Singh (PCA), Aditya Singh (UPCA), Mohammed Enaan (KCA)