ODI and four-day series is to be played between India and Australia's Under-19 team from 21 September. BCCI has announced the squad of Team India for this domestic series. Rahul Dravid's son Samit has also been selected for this series. There was a lot of controversy after Samit's selection, because he has been given a chance in the team despite not performing well. Many fans accused BCCI of nepotism through social media. Despite poor performance, 'Junior Dravid' may have joined Team India, but now he will not be able to play the 2026 Under-19 World Cup. There is a big reason behind this.

Why will Samit not be able to play in the Under-19 World Cup?

Rahul Dravid has been one of India's most successful batsmen. In the junior tournament Cooch Behar Trophy, Samit showed his batting and bowling skills. That's when everyone's eyes were on him. His recent performance has been very disappointing. In Karnataka's T20 tournament, Maharaja T20 Trophy, he could score only 82 runs in 7 matches. His strike rate was also 114. Despite this, when he was selected in Team India, there was an uproar. However, the reason for not being able to play the Under-19 World Cup in 2026 is not performance but his age.

Samit is currently 18 years and 296 days old. In the next two years, he will be around 21 years old. This makes it clear that he will cross the age limit by the next Under-19 World Cup. With this, he will become ineligible to participate in the tournament.

What did Samit say on the selection?

Samit has given his reaction after being selected in Team India. He expressed happiness over the selection and thanked those who prayed for him. Junior Dravid further said that he has worked hard for this moment.

India U19 team's selected moments share our proud mirror with Samit Dravid!

All the best. #SamitDravid #TeamIndiaU19 #StarSportsKannada pic.twitter.com/XnKB5sFZam

— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan) August 31, 2024

Why was Samit elected despite poor performance?

Fans have questioned the selection committee for giving him a chance against Australia despite failing in the Maharaja Trophy.

Their question is why was Samit selected? However, the reason behind this is his performance in the Cooch Behar Trophy. This Under-19 tournament was played in January this year. Samit performed brilliantly for Karnataka in this tournament. He scored 362 runs in 8 matches of the tournament and also took 16 wickets. On the basis of this performance, he made his team the champion.