new delhi: Mohinder Amarnath once referred to the national cricket selectors as a bunch of jokers in 1983. Four decades later, the same words can be repeated as the BCCI met in Mumbai on Tuesday to pick the squad for the Asia Cup in Dubai. At the end of the meeting when chairman selection committee Ajit Agarkar and T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav were addressing the press conference, a main question pertained to the non-inclusion of Shreyas Iyer.
As one of the most consistent performers for India in the ODIs, what has also been special is how Shreyas has performed in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 season and for Punjab Kings in the 2025 season. Agarkar had no convincing explanation as to why Shreyas finds himself in the cold storage, though the rumours suggest Shreyas does not get along well with coach Gautam Gambhir.
There has been bad blood between Shreyas and Gambhir, when he was the head of KKR coaching/mentoring bunch in the 2024 IPL season. However, even as social media went ballistic on the non-inclusion of Shreyas, little can be done.
The chatter on selection this time, which reached a crescendo, is on Shubman Gill. After the highs of the Test tour in England, where Gill scored heavy runs, he is seen as an all-format batter, and even leader. So, for the Test captain to be named as deputy to Suryakumar in the T20 internationals is a clear sign Gill is being seen as a leader in all three formats. It is debatable if he needs to be subjected to so much cricket.