There’s no break for Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Tilak Varma despite being on the road for months. The trio were named to the India A squad on Monday for the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup. Tilak will be leading the side, with Rajat Patidar serving as his deputy.
The tournament will also mark a return to competitive cricket for Harshit Rana, who last featured for the Men in Blue in the T20I series against England. He got ruled out midway due to an injury and has not featured in any match for the national team since.
Prince Yadav, who recently played the T20I series against the West Indies and New Zealand, has also been named in the squad. The BCCI have named a full-strength India A team, with several stars who have previously represented the senior men’s team in international T20S.
Tanush Kotian has also been rewarded for his recent performances in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, and he’s expected to play a key part in the playing XI. The tournament will provide a good opportunity to the likes of Abhishek, Tilak and Sooryavanshi, who will be involved in the T20I series against Sri Lanka next month.
The Rising Stars Asia Cup will be played from November 19 to 29 in Doha, Qatar. India A are placed in Group B alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, and Pakistan A.
Group A comprises Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan A and Hong Kong, China. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, scheduled for November 26 and 27. The final will take place on Sunday, November 29.
India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup: 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.
India’s group stage schedule
India A vs Nepal – November 20
India A vs Pakistan A – November 22
India A vs UAE – November 24