Kenya’s national Under-19 men’s cricket team is set to depart for India on March 14 for a series of build-up matches at the Cricket High Performance Centre (CHPC) Omtex in Mumbai. The training camp will serve as crucial preparation ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in Nigeria.

Speaking to People Sport yesterday, Cricket Kenya (CK) Development Director Thomas Odoyo confirmed that 14 national Under-19 players would travel to India, preferably aboard Kenya Airways (KQ), for the warm-up matches.

“The national Under-19 cricket team will play eight build-up matches between March 14 and 22 at the Cricket High Performance Centre Omtex in Mumbai City, in the Indian state of Maharashtra,” Odoyo disclosed.

In an earlier interview with People Sport, national U-19 men’s team assistant coach Francis Otieno Ndege said the 14 players were selected from a pool of 35 cricketers drawn from different clubs across the country. The selection followed national trials held at Gymkhana Cricket Club sports ground from February 14 to 22.

Ndege named the final squad, led by captain Yash Gohil, who also serves as a batsman and wicketkeeper.

Other selected players include batsmen Ryan Kassam and Yuvraj Bhatyani, UK-based batsman and leg-spinner Stian Smith, batsman Aditya Vekaria, and batsman-off-spinner Akshith Sekar.

The squad also features medium pacer and batsman Neel Doshi, off-spinner and batsman Chidam Saijeeth, left-arm spinner and batsman Shlok Saina, batsman Prinay Galaiya, medium pacers Anthony Ndung’u and James Githua, off-spinner Dhir Patel, and medium pacer Krishil Patel.

Odoyo stated that the team would face top Indian cricket sides that train at CHPC Omtex in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay until 1995.

The 14 players will be accompanied by four to five technical bench officials, depending on the availability of funds from private cricket sponsors, the Government’s Sports Fund, and Cricket Kenya.

“We have already sent our application for funding to the Sports Fund. We expect the traveling delegation to include four to five technical officials led by head coach Josphat Irungu, assistant coach Francis Otieno Ndege, batting consultant Collins Obuya, myself as team manager, and team physio Moses Muturi,” Odoyo disclosed.

He emphasised that the build-up matches in India would be key in preparing the team for the World Cup qualifiers in Nigeria, set to take place from March 26 to April 6.

“The team will return to Kenya on March 22, have a brief training period of two to three days, and then depart for Lagos, Nigeria, for the qualifiers,” he said.

Odoyo recalled that the national Under-19 team had also trained at CHPC Omtex in 2023 ahead of that year’s World Cup qualifiers in Tanzania, where they finished second to Namibia, losing by a single point.

“This time, we aim to perform much better,” he pledged, adding that the team is determined to win all their matches against opponents Sierra Leone, Uganda, Namibia and hosts Nigeria.