Aaryavir Sehwag Makes India U-19 Debut as Anvay Dravid’s 18-Ball Blitz Seals Win Over Australia
Fourteen years after Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid last appeared together in an India squad, at Adelaide Oval in January 2012, those two surnames sat side by side on a team sheet again. This time, the names read Aaryavir Sehwag and Anvay Dravid. The occasion: India U-19 vs Australia U-19, 1st Youth ODI, Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot, September 18, 2026.
Rain shortened the match to 20 overs per side. India posted 182/6 and defended it by 7 runs. Both debutants contributed to the win. Virender Sehwag watched from the venue.
The irony wrote itself. Sehwag’s son batted with a strike rate of 107. Dravid’s son finished at 211.
Aaryavir Sehwag opened the innings alongside captain Lakshya Raichandani. The 18-year-old right-hander played with patience, rotating strike and punishing width. Five fours in his 28 off 26 balls. He and Raichandani (15 off 15) built a 45-run opening stand that gave India early momentum.
Spencer Green dismissed him in the seventh over, caught by Casey Barton. Not a long innings by number, but one that set the platform for what followed.
“One shot that I can take from my dad, because I haven’t really thought about it much, can be square cut (and) upper cut.”
Aaryavir Sehwag, Delhi Premier League 2025 interview
After Aaryavir’s departure, India lost wickets in clusters. By the 12th over, they were 88/4 in a 20-over contest. The required acceleration looked steep.
Anvay Dravid, batting at No. 6 as wicketkeeper, walked in and treated the situation as an invitation. Thirty-eight runs off 18 balls. Two fours. Three sixes. A strike rate of 211.11. He and Yashvardhan Chauhan added 69 runs for the fifth wicket, a partnership that redefined India’s total.
Chauhan was the match’s best performer across both innings: 54 off 34 balls with bat, 2/28 from 4 overs with ball. But it was Anvay’s 18-ball assault that shifted the scoreboard from competitive to challenging. India’s final total of 182/6 owed its teeth to those last eight overs.
Junior Sehwag and Junior Dravid impressed against Australia U-19 today. 🏏#Cricket #India #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/dYTPz5EWEd
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) September 18, 2026
Australia’s chase started aggressively. Captain Jack Czosnek smashed 55 off 27 balls, six fours and three sixes, refusing to let the required rate climb. Neel Patel added 45 off 31. Hayden Barbulovic contributed 40 off 24. At various points, Australia looked favorites.
Czosnek’s dismissal in the 19th over broke the chase open. Mohit Ulva bowled the final over and conceded just three runs. Australia finished at 175/7. Seven runs short.
Neither player arrived in Rajkot on reputation alone.
Aaryavir Sehwag’s domestic numbers demanded selection. In the 2024 Cooch Behar Trophy, he scored 297 off 309 balls against Meghalaya, falling three runs short of a triple century. In the 2025 edition, he accumulated 496 runs at an average of 70.86. He has been a standout performer in the Delhi Premier League. This was his maiden India U-19 call-up.
Anvay Dravid’s trajectory has been sharper and earlier. He captained the Karnataka U-14 team. He scored an unbeaten double century in 2023 against Tumkur Zone. He was the top run-scorer in the 2024 Vijay Merchant Trophy: 459 runs across 6 matches at an average of 91.80. In July 2026, he hit 87 off 67 balls against Sri Lanka U-19. The Rajkot match was already his third India U-19 appearance.
Insider Read
Every cricket dressing room in the country knows when a famous cricketer’s son enters the age-group system. The conversation starts before the first ball is bowled. Selectors watch differently. Coaches handle them carefully. Teammates form opinions early. The scrutiny is not hostile, but it is constant, and it shapes everything from batting order decisions to how a dismissal gets discussed afterward.
What stands out about both Aaryavir and Anvay is that neither has built a game designed to resemble his father. Sehwag’s son anchored. Dravid’s son attacked. That is not coincidence or irony. It is the strongest indicator of proper development. The fastest way for a cricketer’s son to stall is to imitate a template that took decades of professional cricket to refine. The best thing a cricket father can do is let his son find his own method. Both fathers, clearly, have done exactly that. Aaryavir has spoken openly about learning from his father while building his own identity.
The second Youth ODI is scheduled for September 21, the third for September 23, both in Rajkot. Multi-day matches follow in late September and early October, though Aaryavir was not selected for the longer format.
One detail sits beneath the surface. Aaryavir turns 20 in 2027. He will be ineligible for the 2028 U-19 World Cup. This three-match series against Australia is a narrow window. Anvay, at 17, has more runway ahead.
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