BCCI to Organise Emerging Men’s Red-Ball Tournament at Centre of Excellence to Scout Future Test Talent

Mumbai, July 4, 2026: The Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to conduct a four-team Emerging Men’s Tournament at its Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, with the objective of identifying promising young cricketers who could become future Test prospects for India.

The tournament will follow a red-ball format and will feature four-day matches, giving selected Under-25 players an opportunity to showcase their temperament, technique, fitness, and match awareness in longer-format cricket. According to the report, the event will be held in July at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

The competition will include young players who have already represented India at age-group levels or have emerged as notable performers in domestic cricket. Each team will be led by a rising Under-25 player, while former India and domestic cricketers will guide the squads as coaches.

Former India and Mumbai batter Wasim Jaffer will serve as the head coach of Team A, which will be captained by Uday Saharan. Former Bengal off-spinner Sourashish Lahiri will be the assistant coach.

Team B will be coached by former India spinner and former India women’s team head coach Ramesh Powar. Karnataka batter Ravichandran Smaran will captain the side. Smaran has been one of the standout young batters in Indian domestic cricket, having scored heavily in first-class cricket and emerging as Karnataka’s leading run-scorer in the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy season.

Team C will be led by Delhi batter Yash Dhull, who captained India to the ICC Under-19 World Cup title in 2022. Former Rajasthan batter Vineet Saxena will be the head coach, while former Gujarat and Rajasthan Royals pacer Siddharth Trivedi will serve as assistant coach.

Team D will be captained by Himateja K, with former India pacer Debasish Mohanty as head coach and former Mumbai batter Vinit Indulkar as assistant coach.

The tournament is being viewed as an important step in strengthening India’s red-ball talent pipeline. With increasing focus on workload management, domestic depth, and future overseas Test assignments, the BCCI’s initiative may help selectors and coaches closely monitor players who have the skills required for longer-format cricket.

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