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Pakistan to get taste of Vaibhav Suryavanshi euphoria as teen sensation named in India A squad for the first time
Jitesh Sharma will lead the India A squad which has the likes of Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Pakistan are all set to get the taste of 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi after the youngster was named in the squad for the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup, beginning November 14 in Doha. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad on Tuesday morning, and the team will be led by wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who is currently with the main squad in Australia for the ongoing five-match T20I series.
For the upcoming tournament, India A are placed in Group B alongside Oman, UAE and Pakistan A. The final of the tournament is scheduled for November 23, while the much-anticipated contest between India A and Pakistan A will be played on Sunday, November 16. Group A comprises Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, Afghanistan A, and Hong Kong.
Priyansh Arya, who had a breakout season for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, has also earned a call-up. The squad has also Nehal Wadhera, Ramandeep Singh, Ashutosh Sharma and Abhisek Porel. All these names have already made a name for themselves in the IPL and hence have been awarded with an India A call-up.
Also Read: Vaibhav Suryavanshi's ‘knocking at the doors’ as his India future predicted: '14-year-old wonder’
For the tournament, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will send their A teams, while the remaining three teams—UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong —will send their full-strength teams for the competition.
India A will take on the UAE in their opening match on November 14, while the team will play their last league stage game on November 18 against Oman.
The Indian selection committee also named five standby players for the tournament, and the list includes Tanush Kotian and Gurnoor Singh Brar.
Tournament expected to witness further drama
The senior Men's Asia Cup, held earlier this year, witnessed high drama after the Indian team initially refused to shake hands with the Pakistani players. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side then refused to shake hands with ACC chair Mohsin Naqvi.
All eyes will once again be on the conduct of Naqvi, considering he continues to hold the all-important position within the ACC.
Afghanistan are the defending champions of the Rising Stars Asia Cup, having defeated Sri Lanka A in the final of the last edition. Afghanistan got the better of Tilak Varma-led India A in the semi-finals. The last edition was played at the Al Emerat Stadium in Oman in October 2024.
Apart from Varma, the Indian team included Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Chahar, Prabhsimran Singh, Sai Kishore and Anshul Kamboj at that time.
India A’s 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.
Standby players: Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi and Shaik Rasheed.
