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The Board of Control for Cricket in India recently announced a 19-member India A squad comprising 15 main players and four stand-bys for the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup.
The tournament will be played from July 13-23 among eight teams in Sri Lanka. India A are a part of Group A alongside Pakistan A, UAE A, and Nepal. Group B consists of Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, Afghanistan A, and Oman A.
The top two teams from each group will move to the semi-finals and then the final on July 23. Three venues in the capital Colombo - P Sara Oval, Singhalese Sports Club, and the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium - will host the competition.
India A squad for Emerging Asia Cup: Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma (VC), Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Yash Dhull (C), Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Standby list of players: Harsh Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Snell Patel, Mohit Redkar.
The squad includes as many as 12 players from eight IPL franchises, epitomizing the congruence between the tournament and the country's best young talent.
Here's a team-wise look at those players and their recent performances:
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals (DC) might have struggled in IPL 2023 but one of their youngest players, Yash Dhull, is perhaps in the eyes of the selectors as a future India captain. The 20-year-old right-hander will captain India in the Emerging Asia Cup.
A Delhi man through and through, Dhull rose from age-group cricket before getting his breakthrough as India's captain in the 2022 U19 Cricket World Cup. He not only led the team to the title but impressed with 229 runs from four innings at an average of 76.33.
Soon after the tournament, he top-scored for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy with 479 runs at an average of 119.75 including centuries in both innings on debut.
The Capitals signed him for 50 lakh in the IPL 2022 auction. They gave him four matches in IPL 2023, two at the start of the season and two at the end but he failed to impress, scoring 2 (4), 1 (4), and 13 (15) in three innings.
Chennai Super Kings
IPL 2023 champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have the highest representation in the Emerging Asia Cup. All-rounders Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Nishant Sidhu and left-arm pacer Akash Singh will all represent the team at the Emerging Asia Cup.
All three are products of the Under-19 system. Hanagargekar and Sidhu were part of the 2022 World Cup with Dhull and were equally impressive.
Hanagargekar made his debut in the IPL 2023 opener, even picking up three wickets for 36 runs. He was dropped after a wicketless spell in the second match but should be an important part of the franchise's future.
Sidhu, meanwhile, is yet to make his IPL debut but is highly rated because of his six wickets and 140 runs at the Under-19 World Cup.
Akash, on the other hand, was part of the previous Under-19 World Cup in 2020. He made his IPL debut in 2021 against the Super Kings for Rajasthan Royals (RR) but went wicketless and didn't play again for the franchise.
MS Dhoni and Co. roped him in for the 2023 season and picked five wickets in six matches.
SunRisers Hyderabad
India's vice-captain at the Emerging Asia Cup is SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) star player Abhishek Sharma. The young all-rounder has played the past six seasons in the IPL, scoring almost 900 runs and picking up nine wickets.
Although he didn't have a great IPL 2023 (batting average of 20.55 and bowling average of 62) and the SunRisers finished last in the table too, he has been consistent in domestic List A and T20 matches.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is the other SunRisers representee in the Emerging Asia Cup squad. The right-arm pacer was thrown in the middle in the team's last two matches in IPL 2023 but couldn't pick a wicket.
However, the 20-year-old has 37 wickets and almost 500 runs across 24 domestic First Class and List A matches.
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals are the final team with two players at the Emerging Asia Cup - Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel.
Parag is one of the Royals' poster boys and someone they refuse to give up on despite an underwhelming record. They even continue to play him in the lower order, which many consider as against his natural game. However, perhaps like a few others, his selection is based on his consistency on the domestic circuit.
Jurel, meanwhile, did pretty well in his debut season. Batting in difficult positions from number five to eight, he scored 152 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 172.73. India might see him as the finisher at the Emerging Asia Cup.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Next in line of Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) young fast bowlers, Harshit Rana picked five wickets in six matches in IPL 2023. In his debut season in 2022, Rana played just played two matches.
His best performance came against Punjab Kings (PBKS) where he dismissed Prabhsimran Singh and Bhanuka Rajapaksa cheaply.
The right-arm pacer swings the ball upfront and can rack up good pace. Rana didn't get to bat much for the Knight Riders but showed his prowess with the bat recently by scoring a stunning 86-ball 122 in the Duleep Trophy against North East Zone.
Punjab Kings
Prabhsimran Singh's IPL resurgence has earned him a call-up to the Emerging Asia Cup squad.
After struggling for four straight seasons and not getting more than two matches, he scored 358 runs at a strike rate of 150.42, giving multiple brilliant starts to Punjab Kings and emerging as one of the best openers in 2023.
He has been around for so long but is still 22 and has a high ceiling, which also shows in his domestic numbers. The Emerging Asia Cup could be another breakthrough opportunity for him.
Gujarat Titans
The highest run-scorer in the IPL 2023 final, Sai Sudharshan is making big strides. After scoring 362 runs at an average of 51.71 and a strike rate of 141.41 in IPL 2023, the 21-year-old left-hander is currently the highest run-scorer in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) with a stunning average of 74.20.
He's technically brilliant against pace and can strike the ball long against spin as well. Among all members of the team, he would perhaps be highest in the selectors' pecking order because of his all-round consistency.
A good tournament will bring him quite close to the national team.
Mumbai Indians
Although they don't have any player in the main squad, Mumbai Indians' (MI) Nehal Wadhera will hold their flag as a stand-by at the Emerging Asia Cup.
The 23-year-old left-hander batted in the middle order for the five-time champions and impressed with two back-to-back half-centuries against the franchise's staunchest opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings.
Overall he scored 241 runs at an average of 26.78, striking at 145.18. His ability to tee off early in his innings even against quality death bowlers will come in handy for India A if a batter gets injured or is unavailable for any of the matches.
