Eight Blazers Cricket Academy U19 Elite Cohort players have been selected for the Bay Blazers’ 2026 Minor League Cricket squad.

Eight players from Blazers Cricket Academy’s U19 Elite Cohort have been selected for the Bay Blazers’ Minor League Cricket squad, joining a group led by Sanjay Krishnamurthy and Angelo Perera ahead of the 2026 season, which begins September 18.

The selections provide the academy’s young players with an opportunity to compete alongside established domestic and international cricketers in the Bay Blazers setup.

The eight players making their debut when the new season begins are Aadhav Iyer, Advaith Dhumal Rao, Aryan Mathur, Avyukth Raghunarayan, Ayaan Khan, Rayyan Ketekar, Saaket Bapu and Syon Kurdekar.

The Bay Blazers are the reigning three-time consecutive West Division champions. Krishnamurthy, a member of the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket (MLC), will captain the side, with Sri Lankan international Perera serving as vice-captain.

The academy’s selections will train and compete alongside senior players, including Saideep Ganesh, Abhishek Paradkar and Faisal Khan. The wider group of players connected to Major League Cricket also includes Nawaz Khan, Hizbullah Durani and Suliman Arabazai.
Sanjay Krishnamurthy and Angelo Perera.

For the eight teenagers, the upcoming campaign marks a step into senior-level competition, where they will have the opportunity to gain experience alongside players with professional and international backgrounds.

Blazers Cricket Academy founder and chief executive Biju Nair said the selections reflected the academy’s efforts to establish a structured development route from grassroots cricket to higher levels of the game.

“This is exactly the kind of pathway we set out to build — one that starts at a young age and gives players a real, structured route to the top of the game,” Nair said.

“Seeing eight of our U19 Elite Cohort players step onto the field with Major League Cricket professionals is proof that the work we do at the grassroots level translates directly to opportunity at the highest stage.”

Nair also pointed to the academy’s results in USA Cricket’s pathway programs, including its U15 Bay Area Hub Championship victory in 2026.

The academy’s younger age-group teams have also recorded results in regional competition. Its U13 squad finished runner-up in the Bay Area Hub and reached the final in three consecutive years, according to the academy.

The eight selections add to the academy’s representation in the Bay Area cricket structure and give the players an opportunity to develop through exposure to senior competition.

The Bay Blazers will begin their 2026 Minor League Cricket campaign on September 18, with the eight academy players set to make their debuts as they join the three-time West Division champions.