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Shreyas Iyer Handed Illusion Of ODI Captaincy To Suppress Revolt Against BCCI

Anurag Dasgupta

Captaincy lollypop given to Iyer [Source: AFP Photo]Captaincy lollypop given to Iyer [Source: AFP Photo]

Politics and Cricket go hand in hand, and it was evident when India's squad for the Asia Cup was announced recently. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel revealed a strong 15-member squad, and while all the bases were covered, there was one major problem with the team announced. For some reason, Shubman Gill was appointed the vice-captain, while Shreyas Iyer was not even given a place in the stand-by.

Did selectors deliberately remove Iyer from Asia Cup team?

How is it possible that the best middle-order batter of the IPL 2025 season, and arguably the best captain of the cash-rich league, was neglected, and players who were not supposed to be a part of the squad were given important designations?.

Iyer gave his blood, sweat, and tears for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 season as he took them to the grand finale, and yet, he was not even considered for a place in the 15-member team. As a matter of fact, India went ahead with a third keeper in Dhruv Jurel, but couldn't find a place for a batter who has been in the form of his life.

Is Iyer a victim of ego clash?. A couple of years ago, the Mumbai batter had a fallout with Agarkar, who was the chief selector of Mumbai. The talented batter had just returned from an India A tour of New Zealand, and once he returned, Mumbai had a game against Chattisgrah in three days. Iyer was exhausted as he decided to skip the game. This didn't go well with Agarkar, and he was dropped from the squad.

Who could forget when Agarkar was named India chief selector, and he removed Iyer from BCCI's central contract list for missing out on Mumbai's Ranji quarters against Baroda?. It seems there is a huge ego clash, and the 30-year-old has become a victim of it.

Indian fans baffled with Iyer's exclusion

Even before the squad announcement, fans looked assured and expected the Punjab Kings captain to be a part of the main squad. However, to everyone's surprise, the chief selector took a dig at the batter, and simply stated that there is no place for him in the team.

“With regard to Shreyas, who can he replace? No fault of his, nor is it ours. At the moment, you can only pick 15,” Agarkar said.

For fans, it was difficult to digest that a batter, who slammed 604 runs in the 2025 IPL season, and also led his team to the finale, couldn't earn a place, even in the stand-by list. Meanwhile, the decision to bring in Shubman Gill as the vice-captain also met with negative reaction, as the Test skipper was not even part of the scheme of things.

 BCCI gives captaincy lollypop to Iyer

With so much outrage going around, reports circulated on Thursday that the BCCI is planning to appoint Iyer as the next ODI captain to replace Rohit Sharma. A few days ago, it was reported that Gill could be Rohit's successor in ODIs, but it seems BCCI saw fans' emotions, and gave Iyer a lollypop by offering him the ODI captaincy role.

But if we dive deep, there is something to think about. Iyer's ODI captaincy appointment looks more like a PR stunt, rather than actually realizing his worth as a captain. It's more like trying to shift the focus from Asia Cup squad selection, and making people actually believe that the Mumbai batter is next in line to succeed Rohit.

Certainly, the players picked ahead of Iyer aren't better than him, and if the Indian management doesn't want to disrupt the squad that has been playing since last year, then Gill shouldn't have been included. By giving captaincy, the BCCI is probably trying to suppress the revolt that is taking place due to Iyer's exclusion.