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 serving as his deputy. The 15-member squad was announced by the men's selection committee.

The tournament is scheduled to run from November 19 to 29 in Doha, Qatar.

Squad Highlights

Prabhsimran Singh and Kumar Kushagra are the two wicketkeepers in the squad, which also features Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rinku Singh, Prince Yadav, Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Harsh Dubey.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana has also been named in the squad. He has been recovering from a rectus femoris strain sustained while bowling during a match simulation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), after initially reporting there for hamstring injury rehab. The remaining members of the squad are Tanush Kotian, Vipraj Nigam, and Arshad Khan. Notably, these selections mean the players will miss a significant portion of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for their respective states.

Leadership Change and Squad Overhaul

Tilak Varma and Rajat Patidar take over the leadership duties from Jitesh Sharma and Naman Dhir, who served as captain and vice-captain last year. The squad represents a sweeping change from the 2025 India A side that competed in the previous edition of the tournament in Doha. Only Sooryavanshi, Shedge, and Dubey have been retained from the 2025 squad. The players omitted are Jitesh Sharma, Naman Dhir, Priyansh Arya, Abishek Porel, Ashutosh Sharma, Nehal Wadhera, Ramandeep Singh, Suyash Sharma, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Yash Thakur, and Vijaykumar Vyshak.

Group Stage and Fixtures
India A have been drawn in Group B alongside 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 face Pakistan A at the same venue on November 22 before concluding their group-stage matches against the UAE on November 24 at the University of Doha for Science and Technology. The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled for November 26 and 27. The final will 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.
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.