Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Verma has been named as captain of the India A squad for the upcoming Emerging Teams Asia Cup to be played in Oman. The tournament, set to be played in T20 format, shall be held from October 18-27 in Muscat. While Varma is set to lead the side, aggressive opening batter Abhishek Sharma has been named as his deputy in the 15-member squad

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Abhishek is also one of the only two players to feature in the previous edition of this tournament in 2023, played in the ODI format. Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu is the other survivor from the side that otherwise boasts of stars aplenty. Apart from the captain and vice-captain, the batting department also includes explosive options in the form of Prabhsimran Singh, Ayush Badoni and Nehal Wadhera - all of whom have made rapid strides in the T20 form recently.

Ramandeep Singh, who produced vital cameos in Kolkata Knight Riders' title-winning 2024 season, also makes the cut. The bowling department shall be helmed by pacer Anshul Kamboj and left-arm spinner Sai Kishore with a host of other efficient options also in the mix. India are placed in Group B with Oman, Pakistan A and UAE. Varma's brigade will start their campaign by taking on arch-rivals Pakistan A on October 19.

India A squad: Tilak Varma (c), Abhishek Sharma (vc), Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Ramandeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat (WK), Sai Kishore, Hrithik Shokeen, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Anshul Kamboj, Aquib Khan, Rasik Salam