RCB star to lead India A in Rising Stars T20 Asia Cup 2025 in Doha

The wicket-keeper batter of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Jitesh Sharma, has been named the captain of the India A squad for the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Rising Stars Asia Cup, which was called the Emerging Teams Tournament. It’s going to be played from November 14 to 23 in Doha, while Naman Dhir has been named his deputy.

The squad for the T20 competition looks strong with several players who have done well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years, including Ramandeep Singh, Abhishek Porel, Ashutosh Sharma, Nehal Wadhera, Dhir, and others. Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Suryavanshi also made their IPL debuts in 2025 and are part of the squad.

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There are the likes of Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, and Harsh Dubey- the prominent performers of the Indian domestic circuit to get their names in the squad. Jitesh remains the only member of the side to have international experience, as he has been featuring in the current T20I series against Australia.

Jitesh Sharma to lead India A in Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025

The opening game of the tournament will be between Oman and Pakistan on November 14, before India faces the United Arab Emirates on the same day. The Blue Brigade’s next clash will be against Pakistan before locking horns with Oman on November 18. The semifinals will be on November 21, before the final takes place two days later.

In both the senior men’s and women’s games between India and Pakistan, there were no handshakes between the players. Now, it will be interesting to see if the same trend continues even in the Rising Stars’ competition. The teams are divided into two groups- Group A has Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, while Group B includes India, Oman, Pakistan, and the UAE.

India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup T20 2025 tournament

Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vice-captain), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (captain, wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh, Abishek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma

Stand-by players- Gurnoor Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, and Shaik Rasheed.