National junior selection committee chairman Venkatesh Prasad has urged the BCCI to use white ball in the U-19 limited-overs Vinoo Mankad Trophy. This is to allow the colts to have the experience of playing white-ball cricket before coming onto the international scene. “During the Under-19 tri-series in Kolkata, a lot of players complained about not having previous experience of playing white-ball cricket. They were playing white-ball cricket for the first time. So I’ve requested the BCCI to bring in the change,” Prasad said. The cricket board is open to the suggestion. “Yes, he (Prasad) has made a request but this can only happen next year. We will put the matter before the tournament committee,” BCCI joint-secretary Amitabh Chaudhary said. Meanwhile, Prasad said performances in Cooch Behar Trophy — the domestic three-day tournament for U-19 cricketers — would also be taken into account for World Cup selection. “What I’ve seen during the tri-series, I must say I’m very impressed with the talent on offer. And Rahul Dravid being the coach, the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands. We’ve picked the squad for the U-19 tri-series in Sri Lanka but there are many talented players outside the team as well. We will obviously keep an eye on the Cooch Behar Trophy as we want to shortlist the candidates for the World Cup.” The BCCI on Monday announced an 18-member India U-19 squad for the Sri Lanka tri-series with England being the other team. The tournament will be played from December 2 to 21. The squad: Ricky Bhui (captain), Rishabh Pant, Yogesh Sharma, Kanishk Seth, Amandeep Khare, Mayank Dagar, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Virat Singh, Rahul Batham, Anmolpreet Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Khaleel Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan, Zeeshan Ansari, Subham Mavi, Himanshu Rana.
