New Delhi: India ‘A’ have been drawn alongside arch-rivals Pakistan ‘A’ in Group B of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament, to be held in Doha from November 19 to 29. Nepal and the United Arab Emirates complete the rest of the group, with India ‘A’.
India ‘A’ will open their campaign against Nepal on November 20 at 1 pm local time before taking on the UAE on November 24 in a clash starting at 9 am local time. India ‘A’ will play the marquee clash against Pakistan ‘A’ on November 22 at 1 pm local time. Pakistan ‘A’ will face the UAE on November 20 and take on Nepal on November 24.
The UAE and Nepal will meet each other on November 22. Group A comprises Sri Lanka ‘A’, Bangladesh ‘A’, Afghanistan ‘A’ and Hong Kong, China. The tournament will be hosted by the Qatar Cricket Association (QCA), with matches to be played at the West End International Cricket Stadium and the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) ground.
The eight teams have been split into two groups and will play a single round-robin format, with the top two from each group progressing to the semi-finals to be played on November 26 and 27, respectively, before the final happens on November 29. Nepal, Hong Kong, China and the UAE earned their places through the ACC Men’s Premier Cup in Malaysia in July.
All three Associate teams will field their senior national sides. All matches between Nepal or the UAE and any Full Member ‘A’ team will carry official List A status. This means India ‘A’ matches against Nepal and the UAE will both count as List A fixtures, while the game between Nepal and the UAE will be an official ODI.
Hong Kong and China are permitted to play List A matches outside the Cricket World Cup Challenge League, but the status of their games against the ‘A’ sides is subject to ACC approval. Doha also staged last year’s edition of the tournament, where Pakistan ‘A’, also known as Pakistan Shaheens, won the title after edging past Bangladesh ‘A’ in a Super Over in the final.
–IANS–
