Guntur cricketer Shaik Rasheed shines in U-19 World Cup Final

On 5 February, 2022, the India U-19 team has clinched the ICC U-19 World Cup, hosted in West Indies, beating England in the finale of the twenty-day long tournament. England, who has won the toss, chose to bat first and were bowled out for 189 runs by the Indian bowlers. The Indian pacers, Ravi Kumar, and Raj Bajwa, dominated the England batting line-up, sharing 9 out of the 10 wickets among them. England top order batsman, James Rew, was the lone warrior, scoring 95 runs single handedly. Later in the second innings, the Indian team had a bad start, with one of the openers walking back to the pavilion after facing just two balls. The Guntur U-19 cricketer, Shaik Rasheed, came to the rescue, scoring an 84-ball half century. The right-handed batsman hit six 4’s during his stay at the crease. Eventually, India won the match by 4 wickets, with Nishant Sindhu and Raj Bajwa wrapping up the innings. The southpaw, Raj Bajwa, was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant spell of 9-1-34-4 and crucial 35 runs in the second innings.

The Guntur U-19 cricket, Shaik Rasheed, has been receiving a lot of praise from the dignitaries of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA). Treasurer of  ACA, S.R. Gopinath Reddy, has announced a cash reward of Rs. 10,00,000 for the outstanding performance Rasheed has displayed at the U-19 WC, on behalf of the association. Rasheed has scored a total of 201 runs during his World Cup stint, with his best performance coming up in the semi-final against Australia, in which he missed a well deserving century by six runs. P. Sarath Chandra, President, ACA, has congratulated the young batsman, and ensured that the ACA will support Shaik Rasheed in every possible way.

In the early stages of his career, Shaik Rasheed has captained the ACA U-14 team and won the South Zone Championship thrice. The young cricketer has made a mark during his U-14 days, scoring two double centuries and one triple hundred, at the district level. Owing to his wonderful performances, he was sent to England by the ACA, in 2016, where he played for Barnard Castle School. Further, he has served the Andhra U-19 team as the skipper, during the 2017-18 season, in which he score a total of 674 runs, with a mind-boggling average of 168.5.

This Guntur cricketer has captained the Andhra U-19 team in the Vinod Mankad Trophy, 2021. Also, he has led India-A in a triangular tournament, and scored a blistering century against India-B. He has also made his mark at the international level, scoring 80 runs against Bangladesh in the U-19 Asia Cup semi-final, held in 2021.