India yet to host U-19 World Cup, former BCCI official explains why

Defending champions India stormed into the final of the ongoing 2020 U19 World Cup by defeating Pakistan in the semi-final. By winning four U19 World Cups, India U19 are already the most successful team of the tournament. Surprisingly, India has never hosted the tournament ever since it inaugurated in 1988.

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Former BCCI officials blame ICC for not hosting U19 World Cup

In an interview with a leading Indian daily, former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials Anirudh Chaudhry and Niranjan Shah blamed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not allowing India to host the tournament. In the past, certain rumours suggested that BCCI did not want to host because of the lack of profits it would generate. However, both former BCCI officials were quick to debunk those rumours by saying that ICC’s executive board takes the call on the allocation of World Cups.

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Niranjan Shah also said that while an U19 World Cup is yet to be hosted in the country, it has been a good thing that Indian boys have won in conditions away from home. He added that it helps in their development and it also promotes cricket in non-Test playing nations like Malaysia and UAE.

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India U19 storms into U19 World Cup final

Meanwhile, India U19 will now face the winner of the second semi-final in a title clash scheduled for February 9 in Potchefstroom. India U19 have been unbeaten in the tournament so far and they recently defeated arch-rivals Pakistan U19 by 10 wickets in the first semi-final. 

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