TANZANIA's national U-19 men's cricket team opens its account in this year's ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier with a clash against Uganda U-19 in Lagos, Nigeria today.

Six teams are battling it out in Lagos for the ultimate prize of qualification to the ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Fifteen matches will be played across two venues over eight days, with the showdown having started yesterday.

Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Cricket Oval and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) ground will play host to the tournament's participating squads, namely Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The Tanzania U-19 cricketers will confront a familiar opponent in the mouthwatering opening encounter thus a pulsating battle is set to be on show as both teams seek to open their respective campaigns on a sound note.

The two squads recently met in the 2025 Easter Youth ODI Series in Kampala, aiming at gauging their skills ahead of the 2025 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier.

The series saw the Tanzania U-19 cricketers win two ties whereas Uganda U-19 cricketers emerged victorious once.

In the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier clash also penned for today, Sierra Leone will come up against Namibia at the UNILAG Oval.

Tanzania U-19 cricketers will, in the second clash, lock horns with Nigeria at the TBS Oval on Sunday.

The 2025 ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier were opened yesterday with two fixtures slated for the day.

The hosts Nigeria came up against Namibia at the TBS Oval and, in the other clash, Kenya took on Sierra Leone at the UNILAG Oval.

A Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) official stated that on Thursday, Tanzania's U-19 team's captain Laksh Bakrania proudly represented the squad during the official captain’s photo shoot and press conference, standing tall among the continent’s best young leaders.

The team, according to the TCA official, hit the ground running with their first training session, shaking off the travel and getting into tournament mode with high intensity and focus. 

The TCA official noted that the players looked sharp, hungry, and ready to take on the challenge ahead.

As the countdown to Tanzania's U-19 team opening game began on the day, the official pointed out, the team was fully locked in and embracing the occasion with confidence and purpose.

The Tanzania's U-19 team, skippered by Bakrania, is further made up of Acrey Pascal, Abdulrazak Mohamed, Ally Hafidh, Agustino Mwamele, Ayaan Shariff, and Darpan Jobanputra.

Assistant skipper Dylan Tharkar, Hamza Ally, Karim Kiseto, Khalid Amiri, Mohamed Simba, Omary Ramadhani, and Raymond Francis also make the list.

The squad is under head coach, Imran Nackerdien, and his assistant Rijali Fentu.

Tanzania's U-19 cricket team was flagged off at the Muhimbili Cricket Academy in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday prior to taking the trip to Nigeria.

National Sports Council (NSC) Sports Officer Charles Maguzu was the flag off ceremony's chief guest.

The NSC officer shared words of motivation with the cricketers, encouraging them to carry the nation’s pride with confidence and unity.

The TCA Chairman, Balakrishna Sreekumar, asked the team to play well and ultimately come back safely with the trophy.

The ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier contenders will compete in a round robin format of 15 matches over eight days in a winner-takes-all contest.

The tournament's winner will end their long trek and secure qualification to the ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 while the bottom three teams will be relegated to Division 2.

Tanzania U-19 men’s national team beat the rest to the silverware in the ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier in Dar es Salaam in August last year.

The success helped Tanzania's junior cricketers gallantly book a place in the ICC U-19 World Cup Africa Qualifier–Division 1.

The ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier (formerly ICC Africa U-19 Championships) are a series of regular cricket tournaments organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for Under-19 teams from its African member nations.

It is the regional qualifier for the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup.