Cricket: U-19s back with experience despite missing WC slot

Kenya under-19 men's cricket team coach Josphat Irungu has tipped the side to restore the country’s lost glory.

Irungu reckoned that their second-place finish in the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) U-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Dar-es-Salaam that concluded on Sunday is proof that with adequate support, which includes continuous exposure, “the team can go places”.

He spoke to Nation Sport on Tuesday, a day after the team jetted back home from Dar-es-Salaam.

Kenya was represented by 16 players in the tournament where Namibia sealed their spot to next year’s World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Namibia topped with nine points, two more than Kenya. Hosts Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are the other teams that competed in the qualifiers.

“The team is coming up so well,” said Irungu, who hailed the players for finishing second, despite preparing for only two months.

Irungu said lack of adequate fitness, panic against Namibia and poor batting, cost them a World Cup slot.

Thanks to the second-place finish, Kenya was promoted back to the Africa Division One category of the World Cup qualifiers.

Namibia and Uganda are other teams in the category. Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Nigeria dropped to the Africa Division Two Category after finishing fourth, fifth and sixth with four, three and two points respectively.

Kenya started their World Cup bid by competing in the Africa Division Two held in October last year in Abuja, defeating Nigeria by 11 runs in the final to advance to the Africa Division One qualifiers.

Nigeria and Sierra Leone progressed to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers by virtue of finishing second and third respectively in the competition held in Abuja.

“Climbing up to Division One is not something easy. The boys performed well and I’m very proud of them. We must not stop training and playing if we want to qualify for the next World Cup. The boys need to train long together not only when competitions are approaching," added Irungu.

With most of the players in the squad that competed in Dar-es-Salaam expected to be above 19 years during 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Irungu called for the establishment of proper structures to help boost their experience and provide a smooth transition to the senior team.

He recommended the establishment of a Development Team, Kenya U23 and Kenya “A” sides. It is from the Kenya "A" side that the players transition to the national senior team.

Kenya’s Squad

Brian Likavu (WK) - Kenya Kongonis Cricket Club

Darsh Panchani - Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj – Bat

Manav Devani - Mombasa Sports Club - Medium Pace

Raj Manji - Sikh Union Sports Club - Bat

Yash Gohil (WK) - Nairobi Gymkhana Sports Club - WK/ Bat

Vishil Patel- Ruaraka Sports Club - Leg spin/ Bat

Hassan Lijodi - Pirates Cricket Club, Nakuru - Medium Pace

Vaibhav Naresh - Stray Lions Cricket Club - Medium Pace/ Bat

De a n Omondi - Stray Lions Cricket Club - Medium Pace

Stian Smith - Nairobi Gymkhana Sports Club - Bat

Krish Haria - Swamibapa Sports Club - Bat/ Spin

Ken Mwangi - Obuya Cricket Academy - Medium Pace

Neel Doshi - Nairobi Gymkhana Sports Club - Medium Pace/ Bat

Arnav Patel - Nairobi Gymkhana Sports Club - Off spin

Hitendra Sanghani - Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj - Left arm spin/ Bat

Vatsal Shah - Mombasa Sports Club- Left arm China