Rajat Patidar Withdraws From India A Squad, Ayush Badoni Called Up

Rajat Patidar has been withdrawn from the India A squad for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars, and Ayush Badoni takes his place. Patidar is managing existing injuries. Tilak Varma captains the side in Doha, with Rinku Singh as his deputy.

The tournament runs from 19 to 29 November. India A are in Group B. Their meeting with Pakistan A falls on 22 November.

Patidar’s 50-over request

Patidar told the board he should not be picked in the 50-over format while he works through the injuries, according to reports published on Sunday. No timeline has been given. Neither the board nor those reports name the injuries themselves.

That request and this withdrawal are two separate things. The Rising Stars Asia Cup is a Twenty20 tournament. Patidar comes out of this squad because of the injuries, while the 50-over request covers a different format entirely.

Badoni replaces him directly in the middle order. The rest of the squad is unchanged.

Badoni’s call-up

The 15 named by the Men’s Selection Committee carry two wicketkeepers in Prabhsimran Singh and Kumar Kushagra. Four frontline spin options travel: Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey and Tanush Kotian. The seam group is Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav and Arshad Khan.

Badoni bats in the middle order for Delhi. He joins a top order that already holds Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Varma himself.

• Tilak Varma (captain)
• Rinku Singh (vice-captain)
• Abhishek Sharma
• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
• Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper)
• Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper)
• Suryansh Shedge
• Shahbaz Ahmed
• Vipraj Nigam
• Harsh Dubey
• Tanush Kotian
• Harshit Rana
• Prince Yadav
• Arshad Khan
• Ayush Badoni

The Doha draw

The Qatar Cricket Association hosts. Matches are split between the West End International Cricket Stadium and the ground at the University of Doha for Science and Technology. Group A holds Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, Afghanistan A and Hong Kong, China. Group B holds India A, Pakistan A, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar also hosted the first edition of this tournament last year.

India A’s opening week

Nepal come first, on 20 November at 1pm local time. Pakistan A follow on 22 November, also at 1pm. The United Arab Emirates game on 24 November is a 9am start. Semi-finals are on 26 and 27 November. The final is on 29 November.

Three group games in five days leaves little room to rotate. The two wicketkeepers and the four spinners give Varma most of his options. A side that reaches the final will have played five matches in ten days.

Pakistan A hold the title. They beat Bangladesh A in a tied final in Qatar last year, settled by a Super Over. That edition ran with eight teams across November, and India A were in the field without reaching the final.