Anvay Dravid, the younger son of former India captain and men’s head-coach Rahul Dravid, will tour Sri Lanka with the national Under-19 side next month. The right-hand batter-keeper is part of a 15-player squad for three 50-over matches in Hambantota on 4, 6 and 9 July. Two four-day games follow in Galle (13-16 July) and Colombo (20-23 July), though Anvay is involved only in the limited-overs leg.
“It’s a nice step up for the lad,” Karnataka Under-19 coach Sateesh Rao said yesterday. “He’s worked on staying patient at the crease and tidying up his glovework.” Rao’s assessment is backed by recent numbers: Anvay scored 220 runs at 55.00 while leading Karnataka to the Vinoo Mankad Trophy quarter-finals last October, second only to team-mate Vineeth V K.
The teenager’s previous taste of age-group international cricket was less memorable. Selected for India B Under-19s in a tri-series in Bengaluru last November, he nicked off first ball against Afghanistan but did hold two catches. “Those days happen,” he admitted to the state association’s social-media channel later that evening. “You learn and move on.”
Leadership for the wider tour rests with Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan, 18, who keeps the captaincy across formats. Uttarakhand opener Lakshya Raichandani, already a first-class debutant with three Ranji half-centuries last season, is vice-captain. “We like the balance those two give us,” junior national selector Pathik Patel explained. “Yashbardhan brings calm; Lakshya loves taking the game on.”
Samit Dravid, Anvay’s elder brother, was part of the Under-19 set-up two years ago before a knee injury stalled his progress. Samit returned to competitive cricket in the Maharaja T20 Trophy last summer but remains outside the current age cut-off.
Full squads
One-day (50-over): Sagar Virk; Lakshya Raichandani (vc); Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (c); Vineeth V K; Arjun Rajput; Kushagra Ojha; Rajat Baghel (wk); Anvay Dravid (wk); Anmoljeet Singh; Vutkuri Yashveer Goud; Rohit Anil Yadav; Shavin V; Kavya Paresh Patel; Mohit Ulva; Ishan Sood.
Multi-day (four-day): Sagar Virk; Lakshya Raichandani (vc); Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (c); Patel Kush; Manal Chauhan; Kushagra Ojha; Manav Krishna (wk); Aryan Sandesh Sakpal (wk); Hemchudeshan J; B K Kishore; Rohit Anil Yadav; Kavya Paresh Patel; Priyanshu Singh; Pranav Raghvendra; Chigurupati Venkata.
Matches will start at 10 am local time, which is 10.30 am IST and 6 am BST—handy for early-rising UK viewers interested in the next crop of Indian talent.
