Tilak Varma ignored, Yash Dhull named captain as BCCI announces squad for Emerging Asia Cup 2023; fans react

The fifth edition of the Men's Emerging Asia Cup will kick off on 14 July in Sri Lanka.

Yash Dhull (L), Tilak Varma (R) (Image credit: News18)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (4 July) announced India’s squad for the Emerging Asia Cup 2023. Surprisingly, Tilak Varma, who was a sure shot to break into the squad missed out. Meanwhile, Yash Dhull was named the captain of the side with Abhishek Sharma chosen as his deputy.

The other prominent names to have made it into the 15-member squad are Sai Sudarshan, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Prabhsimran Singh, Harshit Rana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, and a few others. Four players including Mumbai Indians’ Nehal Wadhera were named as standbys.

India A squad: Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma (VC), Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Yash Dhull (C), Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Standby list of players: Harsh Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Snell Patel, Mohit Redkar

Coaching Staff: Sitanshu Kotak (Head Coach), Sairaj Bahutule (Bowling Coach), Munish Bali (Fielding Coach)

Also Read: R Ashwin hits back at senior journalist as latter tried to moral police Indian spinner for supporting Australia over Jonny Bairstow’s controversial runout

Fans react as Tilak Varma misses out

As the Indian cricket board named India A squad for the Emerging Asia Cup 2023, fans shared their views about what they think. While a few looked satisfied, a large section of fans was surprised to see no Tilak Varma. However, a few fans pointed out that Tilak might be in contention for the main squad and hence was not named.

Check out the reactions.

Tilak is not
Mean he could be selected for main team
— Aryan (@Harveydent3003) July 4, 2023

Tilak verma should have been selected and nehal wadhera is too good of a player to be on standby list
— ayush jha (@ayushjh28789063) July 4, 2023

Tilak Verma , Rinku Singh ? ?‍♂️ Or we have them in mind for T20s against WI?
— Saumen Ghosh (@shomu_73) July 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/Adityakrsaha/status/1676212340809670656?s=20

Looks like Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh will travel to WI for the T20Is. https://t.co/7xt5VhlJaZ
— Pranav Nair (@leg_gully) July 4, 2023

Much better squad than i expected them to send, also whoever is asking why Riyan Parag is there, you should not talk about cricket beyond IPL. https://t.co/aL9xtPZGQq
— psyf (@PsyfeR888) July 4, 2023

Can't understand
1) Yash Dhull being Captain. He is hardly one season old in senior domestic circuit.
2) Riyan Parag, plays for Assam, scores mostly against weaker attacks, doesn't warrant a place here imo. (Happy to be corrected by ppl who observe Ranji closely) https://t.co/Qs3QBuqXnf
— Srinivas R (@srini_r_twit) July 4, 2023

Tbh a great squad. Anyone missing acc to you guys? https://t.co/KLg7ZRfTWV
— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) July 4, 2023

Notably, the 2023 Men’s Emerging Asia Cup kicks off on 14 July. India A are placed in Group B with Nepal, UAE A, and Pakistan A while Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, Afghanistan A, and Oman A form Group A. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-final.

The first semi-final will be contested between Group A topper against 2nd spot holder from Group B while the second semi-final will be contested between Group B topper and 2nd spot holder from Group A on 21st July. The final will take place on 23rd July.