The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly formulating a succession plan to facilitate a leadership change in the T20I team. Current captain Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to a T20 World Cup title in March, does not feature in the 30-man long list submitted to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.
Selection Timeline and Captaincy Decisions
The national selectors are expected to announce the first-choice 15-member squad for the Asian Games by the second week of June. According to sources, it was pre-decided in January that the selectors would evaluate captaincy options for the Asian Games when they were asked to compile the list. The BCCI will consult with the government to determine whether the first-choice T20 players will be sent for the tournament.
Clash of Schedules
The cricket event at the Asian Games begins on September 23. Meanwhile, the Indian team is slated to play three ODIs against the West Indies at home starting September 28, followed by five T20Is from October 6. The long list includes prominent names such as Jasprit Bumrah, but notably excludes Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. Gill is expected to lead the ODI team against the West Indies. Additionally, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was shortlisted in January.
The deadline for making changes to the long list was May 14. India are the defending champions, having won the gold medal in Hangzhou in 2023 under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led a young team. However, Gaikwad has also been overlooked for this edition.
Suryakumar Yadav's Future in Focus
The selectors are likely to meet next week before India's one-off Test against Afghanistan to finalize the T20I and ODI squads for the tours of Ireland and England in June-July. The Asian Games squad and the India 'A' team for a first-class tour of Sri Lanka, ahead of a two-Test series, may also be decided. A source indicated that Suryakumar Yadav's future will be a key topic in the meeting. Yadav has been out of form in international cricket for the past two years and has struggled significantly in the ongoing IPL season.
"The selectors are looking at possible captaincy options before taking a call on Surya. While Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson appear to be contenders, vice-captain Axar Patel's name has also been floated before the selectors zero down on a clear successor. It will also be seen if Surya will be given another tour to rediscover his touch as a player. The next selection meeting will make things clear," a BCCI source told Times of India.
Government Consultation on Asian Games Squad
"It was decided in January that Surya will not be part of the Asian Games. The focus is on ODI World Cup preparations. There are a few players in the long list who play the ODI format too. The government will prefer if the BCCI sends a full-strength team to the Asian Games. A call on the Asian Games teams will be taken after consulting the government," the source added.
Long List Submitted to IOA
The 30-man long list includes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Ayush Badoni, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Vipraj Nigam, Harshit Rana, Yash Thakur, and Washington Sundar.
