The Pakistan Shaheens will enter as the reigning champions, having defeated Bangladesh A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 final in Doha
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The Asian Cricket Council has announced the schedule for this year’s ACC Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament, which is slated to start from November 24 onwards in the Qatari capital of DohaThe biggest news coming from the schedule announcement is that arch-rivals India and Pakistan have drawn in the same group.
All the participating nations, except Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and China, will send their A teams to the tournament and those countries are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
In the last edition, wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma had led the India A side to the finale where they eventually lost to a spirited Pakistan A teamThe bitter rivals will meet each other once again in the group stages after getting drawn together in Group B.
The ACC has confirmed that India A will begin their campaign against Nepal on November 20 before taking on Pakistan A two days later (Nov 22)Their final group-stage match will be against the UAE on 24th of the month.
Last edition was a blockbuster and Qatar is ready for another round of fireworks
# ⭐
#ACC https://t.co/rCZGF9JCYI
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) October 24, 2026
The tournament will follow a single round-robin format in the group stage, with every team playing the other three sides in its groupThe top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals on November 26 and 27The winners will meet in the final on November 29.
ACC Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026: Schedule
| Date | Fixture |
|---|---|
| November 19 | Bangladesh A vs Hong Kong |
| November 19 | Sri Lanka A vs Afghanistan A |
| November 20 | Pakistan A vs UAE |
| November 20 | India A vs Nepal |
| November 21 | Sri Lanka A vs Hong Kong |
| November 21 | Bangladesh A vs Afghanistan A |
| November 22 | UAE vs Nepal |
| November 22 | India A vs Pakistan A |
| November 23 | Afghanistan A vs Hong Kong |
| November 23 | Sri Lanka A vs Bangladesh A |
| November 24 | India A vs UAE |
| November 24 | Pakistan A vs Nepal |
| November 26 | First semi-final |
| November 27 | Second semi-final |
| November 29 | Final |
India A will look to improve their performance
India A had finished their 2025 ACC Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars campaign in the semi-finals after a strong group-stage performanceThe Jitesh Sharma-led side had won two of their three group matches to qualify for the last four.
They began the tournament with a commanding 148-run victory over the UAEBatting first, they scored 297/4 in 20 overs before restricting the UAE to 149/7However, they suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Pakistan A in their second matchIndia were bowled out for 136, and Pakistan chased down the target in just 13.2 overs.
India A bounced back in their final group match, beating Oman by six wickets to secure a semi-final spotThey then faced Bangladesh A in a closely contested semi-final matchBoth teams scored 194/6 in their 20 overs, forcing a Super Over.
The Bangla Tigers held their nerve in the tie-breaker to eliminate India A from the competition.
What happened in the final last time?
Pakistan A, who are also known as Pakistan Shaheens, defeated Bangladesh A in a thrilling finale, which went to the Super Overs last time around.
After losing the toss and batting first, the Shaheens had posted 125 runs and so did Bangladesh AIn the Super Over, Pakistan A were given a target of just seven runs which they comfortably chased down, taking just five balls to do so.
