Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 4 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-player India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup on Tuesday, scheduled to take place from November 14 to 23 in Doha.

Jitesh Sharma has been announced as the captain, while Naman Dhir will serve as his deputy. The squad comprises players who have delivered at the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), including Ramandeep Singh, Abishek Porel, Suyash Sharma, Ashutosh Sharma, Nehal Wadhera and Dhir.

Apart from the familiar faces, Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who made their IPL debuts last season and enjoyed a breakout campaign, have been added to the team. The prominent performers in India's domestic circuit, including Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Gurjanpreet Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Yudhvir Singh, have also earned a spot in the star-studded lineup.

Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, and Shaik Rasheed have been confirmed as the standby players. Among the selected players, Jitesh is the only one to have made an international appearance for India, which came during the visitors' five-wicket win in the third T20I against Australia. Jitesh remained unbeaten with a quick-fire 22(13), laced with three boundaries.

The teams have been drafted into two groups: Group A comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, while Group B includes India, Oman, Pakistan, and the UAE. The Rising Stars Asia Cup will commence with a contest between Pakistan A and Oman. India will begin its campaign against the UAE on November 14. The showpiece fixture between India A and Pakistan A is scheduled to take place on November 16.

Since the senior Asia Cup in September, this will mark the first time India and Pakistan's men's teams will face off against each other on the cricket field. The Women's team recently faced each other during the recently concluded World Cup, and the contest ended with India emerging triumphant with a commanding 88-run victory.

In the Asia Cup, India and Pakistan did not shake hands or exchange any other formal greetings between players of the two nations. The tournament concluded with India leaving Dubai without the trophy after refusing to accept the silverware from ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as the Interior Minister of Pakistan.

India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup T20 tournament: Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vice-capt), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (capt, wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh, Abishek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma.

Standby players: Gurnoor Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, and Shaik Rasheed. (ANI)