Jitesh Sharma has been appointed captain of India A for the Rising Stars Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 14 to 23. The BCCI announced on Tuesday (November 4) that Naman Dhir will serve as the vice-captain of the 15-member squad.
Jitesh Sharma set to lead the India A team
Jitesh, who is currently part of India’s T20I squad in Australia, will have Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — the breakout openers from IPL 2025 — as his opening partners. The middle order features strong hitters such as Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir, Suryansh Shedge, Ramandeep Singh, and Ashutosh Sharma, adding depth and power to the lineup. Abhishek Porel has been included as the second wicketkeeper-batter. The pace attack comprises Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur, Vyshak Vijaykumar, and Yudhvir Singh Charak, while Suyash Sharma and Harsh Dubey are the lead spinners.
Additionally, the BCCI has announced five standby players — Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, and Shaik Rasheed. India A have been drawn in Group B, alongside Oman, UAE, and Pakistan A.
India A’s squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vc), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (c/wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Abhisek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma.
BCCI announces heavy cash price for the Women team
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has declared a cash reward of INR 51 crore for the Indian women’s cricket team after their triumph at the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia announced the decision in a statement to ANI on Monday, describing it as a tribute to the team’s remarkable victory at DY Patil Stadium on Sunday (November 2).
This bonus comes on top of the revised prize money from the ICC. Earlier, ICC Chairman Jay Shah had revealed a major increase in the Women’s World Cup prize pool, granting the champions USD 4.48 million (around INR 42 crore). This marks a substantial rise compared to Australia’s reward in 2022 (USD 1.32 million) and also surpasses what the Indian men’s team earned after losing to Australia in the 2023 final (USD 4 million). India clinched their first-ever Women’s World Cup title by defeating South Africa in the final at Navi Mumbai.
“BCCI is elated and without touching anything from the ICC kitty, BCCI on its own is going to pay, as a reward, of INR 51 crores to the Indian team. That amount will go to the players, selectors as well as the support staff headed by Amol Muzumdar,” Saikia said.