Spotlight back on Mohsin Naqvi as Asia Cup Rising Stars looms

Another Asia Cup championship is on the horizon and it remains a matter of conjecture whether the event will witness yet another fiasco over the trophy presentation - or even handshakes between the Indian and Pakistan teams. All eyes will once again be on Mohsin Naqvi, who continues to hold on to the Asia Cup trophy, while the Indian team - the rightful winners of the continental championship - still await a formal presentation of the silverware.

The tournament has been rebranded as the Asia Cup Rising Stars Championship, previously known as the Emerging Asia Cup. All eight teams that featured in the main Asia Cup held in the UAE in September - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, the UAE, and Hong Kong - will be the participating countries. Little wonder, India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group.

Cricbuzz understands that the five Test playing nations of the continent - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka - will send their A sides with the remaining three - UAE, Oman and Hong Kong - fielding their full strength sides. The tournament will be played in Doha, Qatar, from November 14 to 23. The 15-match event will be played in Twenty20 format.

Apart from India and Pakistan, the group also includes Oman and the UAE. The other cluster features Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong - exactly like the Asia Cup groupings. The only difference in this championship is the absence of a Super Four stage, which means there can be, at best, two potential India-Pakistan encounters. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, followed by the final which is scheduled for November 23. There will be 15 matches in all.

Afghanistan are the defending champions. They had beaten the India A side, led by Tilak Varma, in the semifinals and went on to defeat Sri Lanka A in the title clash in the last edition. The tournament was played at Al Emerat Stadium in Oman in October 2024. Apart from Varma, the Indian team, among others, included Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Chahar, Prabhsimran Singh, Sai Kishore and Anshul Kamboj.

The squad for this year's tournament is believed to have been picked and youngsters like Vaibhav Suryavanshi have been selected for the 10-day event. The squad is expected to be announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in a day or two.

Following the Rising Stars competition, another Asia Cup is on the anvil this year - this time for the Under-19 teams of the continent and it is scheduled for December. While the exact dates and venue are yet to be finalised, this tournament is also expected to be held in the Gulf region. That will be a 50-over championship.

The lingering question, once again, will be whether Naqvi will insist on presenting the trophy himself, both in the Rising Stars and the Under-19 competitions.

The tournaments will be telecast live on Sony Sports.