Teenaged batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi and IPL star Priyansh Arya were on Tuesday named in the Jitesh Sharma-led India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup to be held in Doha later this month. India A are placed in Group B alongside Oman, UAE and Pakistan A, while Group A comprises Bangladesh A, Hong Kong, Afghanistan A and Sri Lanka A in the tournament to be played from November 14-23. India A will play arch foes Pakistan A on November 16 after opening their campaign against the UAE on November 14.
Jitesh, who is currently in Australia with the Indian team for a five-match T20I series, will be leading a side full of IPL performers, including the 14-year-old Suryavanshi, who have shown tremendous potential. Jitesh was a part of the IPL trophy-winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru side. The 32-year-old, who was brought in place of Sanju Samson for the third T20I, scored an unbeaten 22 against Australia at Hobart as India won the match to level the series 1-1.
“The Senior Men’s Selection Committee has picked the India A squad for the Asian Cricket Council’s Rising Stars Asia Cup to be held in Qatar. The Tournament will be played from 14th to 23rd November 2025 at West End International Cricket Stadium in Doha,” said BCCI in a release. Suryavanshi will once again be the player to watch out for after he became the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket with a 101 for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans in an IPL game earlier this year.
He also cracked a century during India U-19s Youth Test against Australia A in Brisbane last month. Young top-order batter Priyansh has secured a place in the side following his performances for Punjab Kings in the IPL and also his century in an unofficial ODI between India A and Australia A in Kanpur in September. Besides, the squad also has upcoming 26-year-old left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh, who took a hat-trick for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy match against Nagaland a few days back.
Rising Stars Asia Cup squads were earlier known as India Emerging, which was primarily an Under-23 tournament. However, most nations don’t have robust U-23 programmes like India and sent open teams. This year, India has also done the same by including a mix of young and senior players in the squad. 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
