Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma will be leading the India A side in the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup, featuring a bunch of youngsters who have impressed one and all in the IPL and domestic cricket for their respective teams. India A will kick off their campaign against the UAE on November 14.
The BCCI on Tuesday, November 4, confirmed the 15-strong India A squad for the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, set to kick off on November 14. Experienced wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who led Vidarbha to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy quarter-finals last year and recently made a comeback to the national side in the ongoing T20I series against Australia, has been appointed as the captain, while Punjab batting all-rounder Naman Dhir will be his deputy.
The young stars from the Indian domestic T20 tournament, who also impressed one and all in the IPL for their respective franchises, have been called up, including the likes of Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Ashutosh Sharma and Yudhvir Charak. Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old, who slammed a 35-ball ton in his maiden IPL stint for the Rajasthan Royals, has been in serious touch across formats for the U19 team, having recently scored a century in a youth Test in Australia and a 70 in a youth ODI.
India ditched the idea of picking U23 players for the Emerging Asia Cup, which has now been rebranded, with eight out of 15 players in the squad being in the 25-28 age group. Captain Jitesh is the only one aged 30-plus in the squad.
India A have been drawn in Group B alongside UAE, Pakistan A and Oman. The tournament will take place at the West End International Cricket Stadium in Doha from November 14. India A will be in action against the UAE, Pakistan A and Oman on November 14, 16 and 18, respectively, while the two semi-finals and final are scheduled to be held on November 21 and 23, respectively.
India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (VC), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (C) (WK), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Abhisek Porel (WK), Suyash Sharma
Stand-by Players: Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, Shaik Rasheed