Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-19 Asia Cup pits the region’s most talented ‘Associate’ cricketers against the world’s best. This year, Nepal, UAE, and first-timers Kuwait, joined the five test-playing nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the U-19 Asia Cup competitions held in Sri Lanka.
Kuwait faced the daunting prospect of India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in Group A, whilst Nepal and UAE would have fancied pinching a semi-final spot from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh out of Group B.
However, as it turned out, none of the three challengers managed an upset, but there were several good moments and individual performances of note. In a truncated 23-over-a-side game against India, Kuwait’s openers put on more than fifty for the first wicket, and took their side to a respectable 7-110.
For Kuwait, the challenge is to ensure that players such as Meet Bhavsar and Abdul Sadiq can be enticed into committing their cricketing to the Gulf nation. Much of course will depend on how the national team and the high performance program in the country continues developing after a relatively successful 2019.