Irfan Khan Niazi to lead Pakistan in Men's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025

Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi will lead Pakistan in the eight-team Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 tournament, which will take place in Qatar from 14 to 23 November, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Friday.

The 22-year-old will take the charge in the tournament where Pakistan are placed in Group ‘B’ alongside Oman, India ‘A’ and UAE, while Afghanistan ‘A’, Bangladesh ‘A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka ‘A’ are placed in Group ‘A’.

Irfan was was named both the Fielder of the Tournament and the Emerging Player of the Tournament for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League 2024 edition.

Pakistan will play their opening match of the T20 tournament against Oman on Friday, 14 November, before taking on India ‘A’ on Sunday, 16 November.

Pakistan’s final group match will be against UAE on Tuesday, 18 November.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held on 21 November, according to the tournament format.

The final will take place on Sunday, 23 November.

All matches will be staged at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha.

Pakistan will undergo a training camp from 8 to 11 November at Hanif Muhammad High Performance Centre in Karachi before their departure on 12 November.

The Twenty20 tournament was named ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, but it is rebranded this year.

In the last edition, Afghanistan won the final defeating Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Oman.

Pakistan's performance, last time, was less than satisfactory. They lost to Sri Lanka in the semifinal by seven wicket, while Afghanistan reached the final after defeating India by 20 runs.

15-member squad

PCB names squad for Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 tournament. PHOTO: PCB

Muhammad Irfan Khan (captain), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Faiq, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Shahzad, Mubasir Khan, Saad Masood, Shahid Aziz, Sufiyan Moqim, Ubaid Shah and Yasir Khan.

Pakistan's fixtures in Men’s Asia Cup Rising Stars

Group B

v Oman – 14 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

v India ‘A’ – 16 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

v UAE – 18 November, West End Park International Cricket Stadium

Afghanistan also announced their squad on November 5, according to Cricinfo.

Darwish Rasooli will once again lead Afghanistan A team at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Rising Stars Asia Cup, previously the Emerging Teams tournament, to be played in Doha from November 14 to 23. The squad includes 10 players from last year's tournament, which Afghanistan won, including Sediqullah Atal, AM Ghazanfar and Qais Ahmad, said Cricinfo report.

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