JUNIOR Cricketer-of-the-Year 2016, Bhaskar Yadram, and Keemo Paul will be playing for the West Indies Under-19 when the 2017 NAGICO Regional Super 50 tournament starts on January 24.
The 17-year-old Yadram who was among the West Indies Under-19, 20-man training squad last month in Grenada, was outstanding for Guyana last year in Regional youth cricket.While the final squad is yet to be confirmed by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), a source close to the WICB selection panel informed Chronicle Sport that the Guyanese duo will be part of the 14-man squad.
He was the Most Valuable Player in the Regional Under-19 tournament,in which he scored the most runs, while he collected the most wickets in the Regional Under-17 tournament.
Later that year, Yadram continued that form at the local senior level, hitting 547 runs for the East Coast Demerara franchise in the inaugural Jaguars Franchise League Three-day tournament.
His aggregate was the fifth highest in the competition, and he created history along the way, becoming the first, and only player to date, to score two centuries (118 and 121 against Essequibo) in the same match.
Meanwhile, Paul, the 18 year old who was the vice-captain of the victorious West Indies Under-19 team at the 2016 International Cricket Council (ICC) Youth World in Bangladesh, will make up the Regional youth side as one of the players who will not feature in the 2018 Youth World Cup.
According to the WICB source, the all-rounder was selected because the WICB wants to continue to nurture his talent with hopes of him ascending to the highest level; like they did with other outstanding youth players over the years.
Paul played in the last Regional Super 50 tournament with the West Indies U-19s,in which he scored 15 runs from three matches while be bowled without capturing a scalp.
The Super50 tournament will serve as part of the build-up for the Under-19s as they ready themselves for the defence of their ICC Youth World Cup title captured last year in Bangladesh.
The Under-19s will do battle in Group A of the Super50 which runs from January 24 to February 18 in Antigua and Barbados.
Title-holders Trinidad & Tobago Red Force,along with Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Windward Islands Volcanoes and visiting English County, Kent Spitfires, have also been installed in Group A.Group B, meanwhile, comprises last year losing finalists Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners, Jamaica Scorpions and ICC Americas.
