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According to India Under-19s coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar, all-rounder Samit Dravid hasn’t recovered from a knee injury and would probably miss the forthcoming four-dayers in Chennai as well. Dravid was injured during the three-match one-day series against Australia Under-19s in Puducherry.
“As of now he’s at the NCA, recovering from his knee injury,” Kanitkar said of Dravid on the eve of India Under-19s first four-dayer against Australia Under-19s at Chepauk. “So, [I] don’t know yet. It looks unlikely.”
Samit, the son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid, was called up for the first time to the India Under-19 team after making appearances for Mysuru Warriors in the Maharaja T20 Trophy and Karnataka in the Cooch Behar Trophy.
However, Samit, who is currently 18 years old, will not be qualified for the 2026 Under-19 World Cup. Any player who wishes to compete in the Under-19 World Cup must be under 19 years old as on August 31, 2025, in accordance with ICC standards. Samit, however, won’t be able to complete the requirements for eligibility for the 2026 Under-19 World Cup because he will turn 19 on October 11.
Former India batter and NCA head VVS Laxman stated that providing players with opportunity to develop is more important than just choosing a talent pool for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“So, now we are playing a series against Australia Under-19 and luckily a lot of the guys who may miss out on the next World Cup are part of this series,” Laxman said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy which will be known as the ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Bengaluru.
“So overall the exposure is there and they also are not only restricted or constrained only for the World Cup. We want them to evolve as cricketers and just because someone played India Under-19 or someone didn’t play India Under-19 doesn’t mean that they won’t progress in their career but if they play at the highest level, understand the pressures of a World Cup I think that will enhance their mental strength and also progress as cricketers.”