The Indian cricket board announced a 19-member India A squad for the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup. The tournament will be held from July 13-23 in Sri Lanka, with India A competing against teams from Pakistan A, UAE A, and Nepal in Group A. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, with the final taking place on July 23. The squad includes 12 players from eight IPL franchises.
DELHI CAPITALS
Yash Dhull, a 20-year-old right-handed batsman from Delhi Capitals, will captain India in the Emerging Asia Cup. Dhull captained India to the title in the 2022 U19 Cricket World Cup and impressed with 229 runs from four innings at an average of 76.33. He also top-scored for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy with 479 runs at an average of 119.75. Although he failed to impress in IPL 2023, scoring 2 (4), 1 (4), and 13 (15) in three innings, he is considered a future India captain.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has the highest representation in the Emerging Asia Cup with Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sidhu and left-arm pacer Akash Singh. All three are products of the Under-19 system and were part of the 2022 World Cup with Dhull. Hanagargekar made his debut in the IPL 2023 opener and picked three wickets for 36 runs. Sidhu is highly rated because of his six wickets and 140 runs at the Under-19 World Cup, and Akash picked five wickets in six matches for CSK in IPL 2023.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
SunRisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) star player Abhishek Sharma is India’s vice-captain at the Emerging Asia Cup. Despite not having a great IPL 2023, he has been consistent in domestic List A and T20 matches. Nitish Kumar Reddy, the right-arm pacer, is the other SunRisers representative in the Emerging Asia Cup squad. Despite not taking a wicket in the last two matches, the 20-year-old has 37 wickets and almost 500 runs across 24 domestic First Class and List A matches.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Two players will be from Rajasthan Royals at the Emerging Asia Cup – Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel. Parag’s selection is based on his consistency on the domestic circuit, and he is one of the Royals’ poster boys. Jurel did pretty well in his debut season, scoring 152 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 172.73. He might be seen as the finisher for India at the Emerging Asia Cup.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Harshit Rana, one of Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) young fast bowlers, picked five wickets in six matches in IPL 2023. In his debut season in 2022, Rana played just two matches. Swinging the ball upfront and capable of generating good pace, the right-arm pacer’s best performance was against Punjab Kings (PBKS), where he dismissed Prabhsimran Singh and Bhanuka Rajapaksa cheaply. Rana recently showed his prowess with the bat by scoring a stunning 86-ball 122 in the Duleep Trophy against North East Zone.
PUNJAB KINGS
Prabhsimran Singh’s call-up to the Emerging Asia Cup squad is a result of his IPL resurgence. After struggling for four straight seasons, 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. Despite being around for so long, he is still 22 and has a high ceiling, which also shows in his domestic numbers.Another breakthrough opportunity for him could be the Emerging Asia Cup.
GUJARAT TITANS
Sai Sudharshan, the highest run-scorer in the IPL 2023 final, 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. His all-round consistency makes him the highest in the selectors’ pecking order among all members of the team. A good tournament could bring him quite close to the national team.
MUMBAI INDIANS
Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Nehal Wadhera will hold their flag as a stand-by at the Emerging Asia Cup, although they don’t have any player in the main squad. Battling in the middle order for the five-time champions, the 23-year-old left-hander 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 be useful for India A if a batter gets injured or is unavailable for any of the matches.
