Sixteen-year-old Indian-origin cricketer Neel Patel has been selected in Australia’s Under-19 squad for a multi-format tour of India next month.

The New South Wales batter is among 16 young players chosen for the four-week tour, which will feature three 50-over matches and two four-day games against India Under-19s.

Patel has quickly risen through Australia’s junior cricket pathway and represents the University of New South Wales Cricket Club.

At just 16, he became one of the youngest players in Sydney Premier Cricket First Grade history after scoring more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year.

He has also scored his maiden first-grade century and earned selection for Cricket Australia’s Under-19 Men’s Talent Camp in Adelaide.

The upcoming tour will take Patel to Rajkot and Ahmedabad from September 13 to October 9, giving him valuable experience against India’s emerging stars and in very different playing conditions.

For Patel, the tour carries special significance as he returns to the country of his family’s heritage while taking another major step towards his ambition of establishing himself in Australian cricket.