Teenage batting wonder Vaibhav Suryavanshi and IPL player Priyansh Arya were picked on Tuesday in the Jitesh Sharma-led India A team for the Rising Stars Asia Cup, which will take place in Doha later this month.
In the competition, which takes place from November 14–23, Bangladesh A, Hong Kong, Afghanistan A, and Sri Lanka A are in Group A, while India A, Oman, UAE, and Pakistan A are in Group B.
After starting their campaign against the United Arab Emirates on November 14, India A will take on bitter rivals Pakistan A on November 16.
A team comprised of IPL stars, including the 14-year-old Suryavanshi, who has shown great promise, will be led by Jitesh, who is now in Australia with the Indian team for a five-match T20I series.
Jitesh played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team that won the IPL trophy.
After replacing Sanju Samson for the third Twenty20 International, the 32-year-old hit an undefeated 22 against Australia in Hobart, helping India win the match and 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,” BCCI said in a release.
After becoming the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket earlier this year with a 101 for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans during IPL 2025, 14-year-old Suryavanshi will once again be the batter to watch out for.
In Brisbane last month, he also scored a century in the India U-19 Youth Test against Australia A.
After his IPL performances for Punjab Kings and his century in an unofficial ODI between India A and Australia A in Kanpur in September, young top-order batsman Priyansh has earned a spot in the team.
Gurjapneet Singh, a 26-year-old left-arm bowler who took a hat-trick for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy encounter against Nagaland a few days ago, is another member of the squad.
Formerly known as India Emerging, the Rising Stars Asia Cup was mostly an Under-23 competition. But unlike India, the majority of countries don’t have strong U-23 programs and send open teams.
India has followed suit this year by fielding a combination of young and experienced players.
India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Jitesh Sharma (Captain, w/k), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vice-captain), Suryansh Shedge, 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
