Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma named in India A squad for ACC Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup (ODI)
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma have been named in India's 15-member India A squad for the ACC Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup, which will be played in the ODI format in Doha, Qatar, from November 19 to 29. The selections give the two players an opportunity to showcase their credentials in the 50-over game.
Tilak Varma has been appointed captain of the side and is among several T20 regulars included for the 50-over assignment in Doha. The teenager Sooryavanshi and Abhishek, along with Tilak, were part of India's recently concluded T20I series in New Zealand. Sooryavanshi has previously expressed an ambition to represent India in all three formats and has spoken about adapting his batting for ODI cricket.
The selection comes days after former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh urged selectors to promote T20 performers into the ODI setup. "I would love to see him (Abhishek) in the ODIs, to be honest, and I have said this before that if we are not picking guys like Ishan Kishan, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 50-over cricket, then somewhere down the line we are not doing justice to their talent," Yuvraj told PTI.
Sooryavanshi has scored 564 runs in 13 List A matches at an average of 43.38. His standout List A innings came in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December 2025 when he struck 190 off 84 balls for Bihar against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi, becoming the youngest batter to score a List A century and registering the fastest 150 in the format.
This will be Sooryavanshi's second appearance at the Rising Stars Asia Cup; he was part of India's campaign in the previous edition in November 2025 when the tournament was played in T20 format. India A were knocked out in the semi-finals after losing to Bangladesh A in a Super Over following a tied match, in which Sooryavanshi scored 38 off 15 balls.
Abhishek brings more List A experience, having played 69 matches at an average of 33.78 with four centuries. Rajat Patidar has been named vice-captain, while Prabhsimran Singh and Kumar Kushagra are the two wicketkeeping options. The squad's all-rounders include Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey and Tanush Kotian, and the pace/spin options are Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav and Arshad Khan.
INDIA A SQUAD FOR RISING STARS ASIA CUP 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.
India A have been drawn in Group B with Pakistan A, Nepal and the UAE and will open their campaign against Nepal on November 20, face Pakistan A on November 22 and conclude the group stage versus the UAE on November 24; the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals on November 26 and 27, with the final scheduled for November 29. Group A comprises Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Afghanistan A and Hong Kong, China.
