The reasons why Samit Dravid, son of Rahul Dravid, won't be able to play in the World Cup despite his India U-19 call-up

Samit, the son of former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid, has been selected for his first India U-19 squad for the upcoming multi-format series against Australia in September and October. The talented all-rounder impressed selectors with his outstanding performance for Karnataka in the Cooch Behar Trophy earlier this year. Although he will miss out on the opportunity to represent India in the U-19 World Cup in 2026, this call-up is a significant milestone in his burgeoning cricket career.

Samit is currently playing in the Maharaja T20 Trophy in Karnataka. He is part of the Mysuru Warriors squad, and he has scored 82 runs as a middle-order batter in seven innings at a strike rate of 114, although he has not been utilised for his fast-bowling abilities.

Samit's most significant performance came in the Cooch Behar Trophy, a four-day format domestic tournament for the U-19 level, where he scored 362 runs and picked up 16 wickets in only eight matches for Karnataka.

Despite his India call-up, Samit will unlikely feature in the World Cup two years later. Rahul's elder son was born on November 10, 2005, and is only two months away from celebrating his 19th birthday. This implies he will be almost 21 when BCCI picks the U-19 squad for the World Cup in 2026, and hence will miss out on the selection.

Rahul too has missed out on an U-19 World Cup team selection back in his early days despite having been picked for a home India series against New Zealand in the same category in 1992, given that ICC had only hosted the second edition of the tournament 10 years after the inaugural version in 1988.

When will Samit Dravid be in action for India U-19 team?

The three-match one-day series will be held in Puducherry on September 21, 23 and 26, and India will be led by Uttar Pradesh's Mohammad Amaan.

The series will then roll to Chennai for two four-day matches beginning on September 30 and October 7. The India squad for this leg of the tour will be captained by Soham Patwardhan of Madhya Pradesh.

India U19 squad for one-day series: Rudra Patel, Sahil Parakh, Kartikeya KP, Mohd Amaan (Captain), Kiran Chormale, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (WK), Samit Dravid, Yudhajit Guha, Samarth N, Nikhil Kumar, Chetan Sharma, Hardik Raj, Rohit Rajawat, Mohd Enaan.

India U19 squad for four-day series: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nitya Pandya, Vihan Malhotra, Soham Patwardhan (Captain), Kartikeya KP, Samit Dravid, Abhigyan Kundu (WK), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (WK), Chetan Sharma, Samarth N, Aditya Rawat, Nikhil Kumar, Anmoljeet Singh, Aditya Singh, Mohd Enaan.

Stay informed with the latest updates on live cricket score, cricket players, match schedules and ICC rankings. Keep an eye on your favourite cricket team, including the stellar performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Check out the cricket schedule, track team standings and dive into player stats and rankings on Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times website and app.