New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma will captain India A at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup with two-time IPL winning skipper Rajat Patidar named as his deputy in the 15-member squad picked by the men’s selection committee.

The tournament will run from November 19 to 29 in Doha, Qatar. Prabhsimran Singh and Kumar Kushagra are the two wicketkeepers in a squad that also includes Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rinku Singh, Prince Yadav, Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed and Harsh Dubey.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana, who has been recovering from a rectus femoris strain while bowling during a match simulation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) on September 7, after initially reporting there for hamstring injury rehab, has been named in the squad.

Other members who complete the squad include Tanush Kotian, Vipraj Nigam, and Arshad Khan. It also means that the aforementioned players will miss a large part of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for their respective states.

The squad for the upcoming tournament marks a sweeping change from the 2025 India A side who took part in the previous edition of the competition in Doha. Tilak and Patidar take over the leadership duties from Jitesh Sharma and Naman Dhir, who were captain and vice-captain last year.

Sooryavanshi, Shedge, and Dubey are the only retained from the 2025 squad, while the omissions are Jitesh, Dhir, Priyansh Arya, Abishek Porel, Ashutosh Sharma, Nehal Wadhera, Ramandeep Singh, Suyash Sharma, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Yash Thakur and Vijaykumar Vyshak.

India A have been drawn in Group B with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal and Pakistan A. Group A features Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan A and Hong Kong, China. India A will open their campaign against Nepal on November 20, at the West End Park International Stadium.

They will take on Pakistan A at the same venue on November 22, before ending the group stage against the UAE at the University of Doha for Science and Technology on November 24. Top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, to be played on November 26 and 27 respectively. The final is scheduled to be played on November 29.

India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Tilak Varma (captain), Rajat Patidar (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, and Arshad Khan

--IANS

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