Cricket, the world’s second most popular sport, which will also return as an Olympic sport in 2028, is increasing in popularity in Finland, especially among young people. The Finnish Cricket Association has named the first-ever Junior Bears under-15 squad, scheduled to play in two international junior series in the summer of 2025 in Tikkurila, Vantaa.
“We started building a junior national cricket team in 2023,” says Junior Bears coordinator Maija Hyötyläinen. “We recognised that in addition to regular training young cricketers needed a clear goal to maintain their motivation to train. At the same time, our aim has been to guide young people to club activities, so that clubs also have the motivation to organise junior sessions.”
“It has been amazing to watch the development of this group of young cricketers over the past 18 months,” says Richard Savage, the head coach of the Junior Bears U15 team. “Many people dream of getting into the national team, but that requires commitment to both the team and continuous training. I’m extremely happy to work with these promising talents and hope cricket enthusiasts from across Finland and further afield will come to see them in action during 2025.”
Junior Bears Squad 2025, in alphabetical order by surname
Siddhi Agarwal
Devansh Chaudhary
Dillon Kabadduwa
Pranav Vinod Kamath
Aadit Kant
Mari Kojo
Sayur Momin Khoja
Jayesh Manthiram
Anant Mishra
Eran Saint Perera
Alfred Pilz
Aadharsh Karthik Hari Prasadh
Ahilesh Rajasekar
Muhammad Rehan
Henrik Savage
Evaan Sharma
Ryan Sharma
Hitansh Tailor
Aaryaman Vij
