India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Tilak Varma named captain, Sooryavanshi included; Harshit Rana returns

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a 15-member India-A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2026, set to be held in Doha. Tilak Varma will lead the side with two-time IPL winning captain Rajat Patidar named his deputy.

The team includes several India T20I regulars like Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rinku Singh and Prince Yadav.

The full squad is Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh [wk], Tilak Varma [c], Rajat Patidar [vc], Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra [wk], Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshad Khan.

Context and tournament format

Asia Cup Rising Stars is a men's Twenty20 cricket tournament created by the Asian Cricket Council in 2013 as the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup to develop talented young cricketers of Asia.

The first tournament as Asia Cup Rising Stars was played in Qatar in November 2025.

The 2025 edition was the inaugural Asia Cup Rising Stars, played in November 2025 in Qatar, with eight teams competing, including 'A' teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, as well as three qualifiers from the 2024 ACC Men's Premier Cup.

The 2026 Asia Cup Rising Stars will be the second edition, scheduled to be played in November 2026 in Qatar, with eight teams competing, including 'A' teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, as well as three qualifiers from the 2026 ACC Men's Premier Cup.

India-A group and schedule

India-A is in Group B alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, and Pakistan-A. It will open its campaign against Nepal on November 20, before facing Pakistan-A on November 22 and UAE on November 24. Group A comprises Bangladesh-A, Afghanistan-A, and Sri-Lanka-A.

Player returns and past record

The tournament will also mark the return of pacer Harshit Rana, who has been sidelined due to an injury since the tour to England. Tilak Varma had last captained India-A during the side’s One-Day tour to Sri Lanka. India-A had crashed out in the semifinals in the previous edition after losing to Bangladesh-A on a Super Over.

What happens next

India-A will begin its Rising Stars Asia Cup campaign against Nepal on November 20 in Doha.

India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup 2026

Related on Apex Sports News

• India Under-19 Asia Cup squad: Sehwag and Dravid named

• Ravindra and Chapman ruled out of India ODIs

Sources

• Sportstar

• Times of India