The 2023 edition of the ACC Emerging Men's Asia Cup has come to a close as Pakistan A beat India A in Colombo in the final. Despite the loss, the tournament has been a revelation in the careers of young Indian stars.
Exciting youngsters like Sai Sudarshan, Yash Dhull, and Nishant Sindhu were a part of the Indian team. The Emerging Asia Cup has been a stepping stone in their young careers despite the final heartbreak.
In this article, we look at five standout stars from the Indian team at this year's edition of the Emerging Asia Cup.
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Who were the five best Indian Players at the Emerging Asia Cup?
Yash Dhull: Yash Dhull was the team captain, and had a fine tournament. He scored 234 runs in 4 innings and finished second on the list of top run-scorers. Dhull was dismissed only twice in the whole campaign and averaged 117. He scored a half-century against Bangladesh in the semi-finals. His highest score of an unbeaten 108 was against UAE in India's first game of the campaign.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar: The Chennai Super Kings pacer finished as the second-highest wicket-taker, despite not playing the opening encounter against UAE. Hangargekar finished with ten wickets. He also picked up a fifer (5/42) against Pakistan in the group stage. He also bagged two wickets in the final.
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Abhishek Sharma: The all-rounder was one of India's brightest stars throughout the tournament. Not only did Abhishek perform his role as an opener with charm, he also proved to be a handy bowler, and provided crucial breakthroughs. He finished as the third-highest run-getter in the tournament, scoring 221 runs in five innings at an average of 44.20. Sharma scored a half-century (61) in the final. He also picked up two wickets in the tournament.
Sai Sudarshan: After impressing at the IPL for Gujarat Titans, Sudarshan continued firing on all cylinders for India A. He scored 218 runs in five matches in the tournament. Sudarshan played a monumental innings of 104 runs against Pakistan in the group stage. With the upward trajectory since the start of 2023, it is not long before we see Sudarshan get a first-team call-up.
Nishant Sindhu: Sindhu finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker, picking up 11 wickets in five matches. The slow-left-armer's best figures were 5/20 in 8 overs in the all-important semi-final against Bangladesh. Sindhu bowled at an economy of 3.91 throughout the tournament.
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