The South Zone Vinoo Mankad trophy under-19 tournament had to be stopped midway last October because of cyclone Hudhud. And when it was resumed in January this year, Andhra won the title.
Andhra is hosting the tournament this year again, thanks to heavy rains in Kerala, the original venue of the tournament. The ACA came to the rescue as its general secretary and vice-president of BCCI G. Gangaraju convinced the national body to shift the matches to Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram at short notice since they had international standard facilities. The decision was taken on Wednesday and the matches commenced on Friday. They would be held till October 15.
Matches being played here should be an advantage to Andhra players — batsman Karan Shinde, pace bowlers Karthik Raman and Girinadh Reddy, and left-arm spinner and all-rounder Manish, said Director (cricket operations) of ACA M.S.K. Prasad.
Andhra youngsters are under-19 World Cup berth aspirants and the home advantage should help them since this tournament weighs a lot in selecting probables for the World Cup to be held in 2016.
The matches would be played at Port Stadium and ACA-VDCA stadium here and at Vizzy Stadium in Vizianagaram.
Because of rains in Kerala, Andhra is hosting the under-19 cricket tournament this year too
