Rajat Patidar out of Rising Stars Asia Cup, Ayush Badoni named; Rinku Singh vice-captain

There has been a major change in the India 'A' squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2026. Rajat Patidar will not play in the tournament. Delhi's Ayush Badoni has been included in the squad in his place.

The BCCI had announced the India 'A' squad for the tournament a few days ago. Tilak Varma was named captain, and Patidar, captain of a two-time IPL-winning team, was chosen as vice-captain. With Patidar's exit, the vice-captaincy has now been given to Rinku Singh.

The Rising Stars Asia Cup is to be played in the ODI format this time. For this reason, the BCCI had included several well-known T20 players in the squad. Patidar was one of them. But he has now told the BCCI clearly that he will not be able to play ODI matches for the time being. His name has therefore been dropped from the India 'A' squad.

In a press release, the BCCI said Patidar is not yet fit to play ODIs. He is currently recovering from an injury and will therefore be able to play only the T20 format.

Badoni has taken Patidar's place in the squad, but he has not been given the vice-captaincy. That responsibility has gone to Rinku Singh. Rinku Singh will now share the key decisions of the team with Tilak Varma.

The squad has plenty of batting strength. Explosive batters Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Suryavanshi will open the innings for India 'A'. In this tournament, both have a chance to prove themselves in ODIs. Prabhsimran Singh and Kumar Kushagra have been given the wicketkeeper-batter roles. Both have performed consistently well for India 'A'. Captain Tilak Varma and vice-captain Rinku Singh will also try to prove themselves in ODIs and return to the Indian team.

After the change, the India 'A' squad is: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (captain), Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Suryansh Shedge, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vipraj Nigam, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Prince Yadav, Arshad Khan and Ayush Badoni.