Tilak Varma to lead strong India A squad in Rising Stars Asia Cup
Rajat Patidar has been named vice-captain for the tournament that is set to begin on November 19 in Qatar
Tilak Varma has been named India A's captain for the upcoming ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup tournament. Tilak will lead a strong Indian contingent to feature in the tournament that begins on November 19 in Doha.
The world's No.1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and prolific runscorer in IPL, Prabhsimran Singh, make up the top order. Kumar Kushagra, who was recently called up to the Indian T20 squad briefly, is the reserve wicketkeeper in the squad. Rajat Patidar has been named Tilak's deputy for the tournament with Rinku Singh completing the middle order.
Around the same time last year, the tournament was played in Doha in the T20 format with Pakistan beating Bangladesh in the final. Sooryavanshi, Suryansh Shedge and Harsh Dubey are the only players to have been retained from the 2025 squad. This year's tournament will be played in the 50-over format.
Harshit Rana, who has had his fair share of struggles with injuries this year, finds a spot in his bid to return to the senior ODI squad. Arshad Khan and Prince Yadav are the other frontline pace options for India A with the selectors opting to strengthen the spin department in numbers. Apart from Dubey, the selectors have picked Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam and Tanush Kotian as well.
India A are present in Group B alongside Pakistan A, Nepal and the UAE. They begin their campaign on November 20 against Nepal, followed by fixtures against Pakistan A and UAE on November 22 and 24 respectively. A top-two finish in the group will send them to the semifinal.
Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Tilak Varma (C), Rajat Patidar (VC), Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshad Khan
