India A

India A has no fixture list of its own, no home ground, and no season in the ordinary sense. Matches are staged wherever the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finds a gap in the calendar and an opponent worth testing players against — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram have all hosted a game this side calls home for a week.

The team dates its founding to 1992, though its first recognised first-class fixture came later, a defeat to England A at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in January 1995.

Pakistan A supplies the closest thing to a settled rivalry, sharpened by the wider context between the two boards; the 2023 ACC Men's Emerging Cup final went the same way, a 128-run defeat to Pakistan A after India A had reached that stage. The following year's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup went better through the group phase, with wins over Pakistan A, the United Arab Emirates A and Oman A, before Afghanistan A ended the run at the semi-final.

Few sides can point to a graduating class like this one. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both passed through India A on their way to the senior team, and neither man's route via that dressing room needs much explaining now — it is simply where India tends to find out who is ready.