Daijiworld Media Network - Melbourne

Melbourne, Aug 3: Indian-origin batter Neel Patel has been named in Australia's Under-19 men's squad for next month's multi-format tour of India, Cricket Australia announced.

The 16-member squad will play three one-day matches and two four-day matches against the India Under-19 team in Rajkot and Ahmedabad.

Patel, who represents the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Cricket Club, became one of the youngest players to score more than 1,000 runs in Sydney Premier Cricket First Grade in a calendar year, achieving the feat at the age of 16.

Fast bowlers Will Byrom and Kasey Barton, the only two members of the squad who featured in the ICC Under-19 World Cup earlier this year in Zimbabwe, will spearhead the Australian attack. Byrom claimed 10 wickets at an average of 10.50 during the tournament, while Barton picked up four wickets as Australia lost to England by 27 runs in the semi-finals.

"We are really pleased to provide the opportunity to some of Australia's best young players to continue their development as part of our pathways program. Touring India and playing against high-quality opposition in challenging conditions will be a valuable experience and test the players technically and mentally across formats," Cricket Australia Head of National Development Sonya Thompson said.

Meanwhile, a Cricket Australia Development squad arrived in Chennai on Saturday for the annual MRF Academy Program. The 12-member squad includes several state regulars and recent Australia T20I debutant Joel Davies.

The program will feature two multi-day matches, scheduled for August 5-6 and August 10-11, on spin-friendly pitches.

Australia U-19 squad: Kasey Barton, Hayden Barbulovi, Eli Brain, Will Byrom, Blake Cattle, Jack Czosnek, Spencer Green, Connor Gregory, Charlie Henderson, Zed Hollick, Matthew Lough, Neel Patel, Jacob Pietz, Patrick Sullivan, Theo Tsingos and Thomas Vaseo.