On Tuesday, when the BCCI selection committee met at the board headquarters in Mumbai, one question echoed through every tea discussion after the squad announcement — why and how was Shreyas Iyer left out? Not just from the 15-member squad, but even from the 20-member list and standbys.
This comes as a shock considering Iyer’s phenomenal run in the Champions Trophy 2025 earlier this year in Dubai — the very venue where the Asia Cup will be played. After that, his IPL 2025 campaign with Punjab Kings was nothing short of stellar. He anchored PBKS’ middle order almost single-handedly, showing both maturity and consistency. His strike rate was among the best, his finishing ability rock solid, and he even led his team to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title this year. So why was he ignored?
A Weak BCCI After Jay Shah’s Exit
According to people familiar with the corridors of power inside the BCCI, the situation changed drastically after Jay Shah stepped down as board secretary to take over as ICC chairman. The current leadership at the BCCI is said to be weak and indecisive, and it is showing.
Senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja are no longer part of India’s T20 setup, leaving a leadership vacuum. Sources reveal that one player who made the Asia Cup squad did so not entirely on cricketing merit, but because of political pressure from a close family member who holds a powerful position in politics.
This hot take has not been reported anywhere in national media — yet it is the only explanation doing the rounds in BCCI circles. The whispers are loud: the selectors did not pick the team freely.
Three Tough Questions For The BCCI
If these reports are true — and every sign points that they are — the BCCI has some serious explaining to do:
- Are selectors now so helpless that they bow to outside pressure rather than go by performance?
- Did the current interim board president — known to share close ties with that political figure — allow this to happen?
- Why did selection committee chief Devajit Saikia not stop it?
When the country’s top cricket body cannot defend merit, it raises questions about whether Indian cricket is being run by selectors or by unseen power brokers.
A Cruel Snub To Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer could not have done more to stake his claim. His runs in Champions Trophy 2025, his match-winning knocks in IPL 2025, and his leadership in domestic cricket all proved he is one of India’s most dependable batters in limited-overs cricket.
To leave him out of even the standby list is not just unfair — it is a direct insult to performance, consistency, and hard work.
If Indian cricket is serious about winning trophies, decisions must be based on cricketing logic, not on political favors. Right now, it seems the BCCI has failed to stand firm, and one of India’s finest middle-order batsmen is paying the price.
