The 2026 ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is scheduled to take place from 15 January to 6 February 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia. This tournament is the sixteenth edition of the Under-19 World Cup, a global competition organised by the International Cricket Council for national teams with players under the age of 19. A total of 16 teams are set to compete in the event.
The tournament will be played in a 50-overs per side format. It begins with a group stage, where the 16 teams are divided into four groups of four teams each. After the group matches, the top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six stage, carrying forward results against other qualified teams from their group. The best teams from the Super Six stage will then move on to the knockout phase, which includes semifinals and the final.
Australia are the defending champions. They defeated the Indian Under-19 team in the final in 2024 by 79 runs after posting a total of 253 runs on the board. It was Australia’s fourth title and the first one since 2010.
List of Teams Participating in ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026 Teams
Zimbabwe, being a full-member host, received automatic qualification to the league. The top 10 teams from the last World Cup also received a direct qualification to the tournament.
Automatically Qualified Teams
Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the West Indies
Teams Qualified Through Regional Pathways
- Africa Qualifier: Tanzania
- Asia Qualifier: Afghanistan
- East Asia-Pacific Qualifier: Japan
- Europe Qualifier: Scotland
- Americas Qualifier: USA
ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026 – Group Distribution
Here’s how the 16 teams have been divided into four groups:
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Bangladesh | England | Afghanistan |
| Ireland | India | Pakistan | South Africa |
| Japan | New Zealand | Scotland | Tanzania |
| Sri Lanka | USA | Zimbabwe | West Indies |
ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026 Team-by-Team Breakdown
This section offers a quick overview of all participating teams in the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026, highlighting squad strengths, playing styles, and key players to watch. It helps readers understand how each side shapes up ahead of the tournament and what to expect from their performances.
1. Australia
Oliver Peake (c), Kasey Barton, Naden Cooray, Jayden Draper, Ben Gordon, Steven Hogan, Thomas Hogan, John James, Charles Lachmund, Will Malajczuk, Nitesh Samuel, Hayden Schiller, Aryan Sharma, William Byrom, Alex Lee Young
2. Ireland
Olly Riley (c), Reuben Wilson, Alex Armstrong, Callum Armstrong, Marko Bates, Sebastian Dijkstra, Thomas Ford, Samuel Haslett, Adam Leckey, Febin Manoj, Luke Murray, Robert O’Brien, Freddie Ogilby, James West, Bruce Whaley.
Reserves: Peter le Roux, William Shields
3. Japan
Kazuma Kato-Stafford (c), Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Kaisei Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pol, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aaryan Waduge, Kai Wall, Taylor Waugh
4. Sri Lanka
Vimath Dinsara (c), Kavija Gamage, Dimantha Mahavithana, Viran Chamuditha, Dulnith Sigera, Chamika Heentigala, Adam Hilmy, Chamarindu Nethsara, Sethmika Seneviratne, Kugathas Mathulan, Rasith Nimsara, Vigneshwaran Akash, Jeewantha Sriram, Senuja Wekunagoda, Malintha Silva
5. Bangladesh
Azizul Hakim Tamim (c), Zawad Abrar, Samiun Basir Ratul, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Rizan Hossan, Shaharia Al Amin, Shadin Islam, Md Abdullah, Farid Hasan Faysal, Kalam Siddiki Aleen, Rifat Beg, Saad Islam Razin, Al Fahad, Shahriar Ahmed, Iqbal Hossain
Reserves: Abdur Rahim, Debashis Sarkar Deba, Rafi Uzzaman Rafi, Farhan Shahriar, Farzan Ahmed Alif, Sanjid Majumder, Md Sobuj
6. India
Ayush Mhatre (c), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, D. Deepesh, Mohamed Enaan, Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu, Kishan Kumar Singh, Vihaan Malhotra, Udhav Mohan, Henil Patel, Khilan A. Patel, Harvansh Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi
7. New Zealand
Tom Jones (c), Marco Alpe, Hugo Bogue, Harry Burns, Mason Clarke, Jacob Cotter, Aryan Mann, Brandon Matzopoulos, Flynn Morey, Snehith Reddy, Callum Samson, Jaskaran Sandhu, Selwin Sanjay, Hunter Shore, Luke Harrison
8. USA
Utkarsh Srivastava (c), Adnit Jhamb, Shiv Shani, Nitish Sudini, Advaith Krishna, Sahir Bhatia, Arjun Mahesh, Amrinder Gill, Sabrish Prasad, Adit Kappa, Sahil Garg, Amogh Reddy Arepally, Ritvik Appidi, Rayaan Taj, Rishabh Shimpi
9. England
Thomas Rew (c), Farhan Ahmed, Ralphie Albert, Will Bennison, Ben Dawkins, Caleb Falconer, Ali Farooq, Alex French, Alex Green, Luke Hands, Manny Lumsden, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Joe Moores, Sebastian Morgan
10. Pakistan
Farhan Yousaf (c), Usman Khan, Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor, Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan, Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas, Umar Zaib.
Reserves: Abdul Qadir, Farhanullah, Hassan Khan, Ibtisam Azhar, Mohammad Huzaifa
11. Scotland
Thomas Knight (c), Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Olly Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Ram Sharma, Shreyas Tekale, Shlok Thaker, Jake Woodhouse
13. Zimbabwe
Simbarashe Mudzengerere (c), Kian Blignaut, Michael Blignaut, Leeroy Chiwaula, Tatenda Chimugoro, Brendon Senzere, Nathaniel Hlabangana, Takudzwa Makoni, Panashe Mazai, Webster Madhidhi, Shelton Mazvitorera, Kupakwashe Muradzi, Brandon Ndiweni, Dhruv Patel, Benny Zuze
14. Afghanistan
Mahboob Khan (c), Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat, Faisal Khan, Uzairullah Niazai, Aziz Mia Khil, Nazif Amiri, Khatir Stanikzai, Nooristani, Abdul Aziz, Salam Khan, Wahid Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Rohullah Arab, Hafieez Zadran.
Reserves: Aqil Khan, Fahim Qasemi, Izat Noor
15. South Africa
Muhammad Bulbulia (c), JJ Basson, Daniel Bosman, Corne Botha, Paul James, Enathi Khitshini, Michael Kruiskamp, Adnaan Lagadien, Bayanda Majola, Armaan Manack, Bandile Mbatha, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Jason Rowles, Ntandoyenkosi Soni, Jorich van Schalkwyk
16. Tanzania
Laksh Bakrania (c), Karim Kiseto, Hamza Ally, Khalidy Amiri, Abdulazak Mohamedi, Ayaan Shariff, Omary Ramadhani, Dylan Thakrar, Agustino Mwamele, Ally Hafidhi, Acrey Pascal (wk), Darpan Jobanputra, Mohammedi Simba, Raymond Francis, Alfred Daniel
17. West Indies
Joshua Dorne (c), Jewel Andrew, Shamar Apple, Shaquan Belle, Zachary Carter, Tanez Francis, R’jai Gittens, Vitel Lawes, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller, Isra-el Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Aadian Racha, Kunal Tilokani, Jonathan Van Lange
Reserves: Brendan Boodoo, Tyriek Bryan, Earsinho Fontaine, Deshawn James
FAQs
A total of 16 teams are participating in the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026.
The tournament will be hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia, with matches played across venues in both countries.
The competition will be played in a 50-over format. It includes a group stage, followed by the Super Six round, semifinals, and the final.
Zimbabwe qualified automatically as hosts, while the top 10 teams from the previous U19 World Cup earned direct qualification. The remaining teams qualified through regional qualifiers across Africa, Asia, Europe, East Asia-Pacific, and the Americas.
Tanzania (Africa), Afghanistan (Asia), Japan (East Asia-Pacific), Scotland (Europe), and USA (Americas) qualified through regional qualification tournaments.
The 16 teams are divided into four groups of four teams each: Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D.
The top three teams from each group advance to the Super Six stage, carrying forward results against other qualified teams from their group.
The tournament is scheduled to run from 15 January to 6 February 2026.
