NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is understood to be working on a potential leadership handover for the men’s T20I side, with captain Suryakumar Yadav emerging at the centre of the discussion. Suryakumar, who played a key role in India winning the T20 World Cup in March, is not included in the 30-man preliminary list sent to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, scheduled from September 19 to October 4.
India’s selectors are expected to submit their first-choice squad of 15 players for the multi-sport event by the second week of June. It has been learned that this approach was already settled earlier: when the selectors were asked in January to prepare the list, they were also directed to consider captaincy possibilities for the Asian Games. The BCCI is expected to consult the government before finalising whether India’s leading T20 performers will be released for the Asian Games.
The cricket programme at the Asian Games begins on September 23. India are then set to play three ODI matches against the West Indies at home starting September 28, followed by five T20 internationals from October 6. The preliminary list includes several prominent names, with Jasprit Bumrah among them, but Suryakumar and Shubman Gill are absent. Gill is expected to captain the ODI team in the West Indies series, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had already been shortlisted in January.
The deadline for changes to the list was May 14. India will enter the tournament as defending champions. Ruturaj Gaikwad had previously led a young Indian team to an Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou in 2023, yet he, too, has not made the cut for this edition.
As for Suryakumar’s near-term future, the selection panel is likely to meet next week before India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan. That meeting will determine the T20I and ODI groups for India’s tour of Ireland and England in June-July. The selectors may also finalise the Asian Games squad during the same window, along with picking India ‘A’ for a first-class tour of Sri Lanka ahead of a two-Test series there.
Insiders suggest that Suryakumar’s situation will be closely examined in the upcoming discussions. The captain has struggled for form in international cricket over the past two years and has had a difficult IPL season so far.
“The selectors are reviewing captaincy options before deciding what to do with Suryakumar. Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson look like strong contenders, and Axar Patel’s name has also been floated for the role. The selectors will then decide on a clear successor. They will also assess whether Suryakumar should be given another tour to regain his rhythm. The next selection meeting should clarify the picture,” a BCCI source said.
The source further added that the decision on Suryakumar’s non-participation was taken earlier. “It was decided in January that Suryakumar will not be part of the Asian Games. The priority is ODI World Cup preparation. There are players in the long list who also play ODI cricket, and the government would prefer the BCCI sends a full-strength side for the Asian Games. The final call on the Asian Games teams will be made after consulting the government,” the source said.
Long list for IOA: 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 Nigam, Harshit Rana, Yash Thakur, Washington Sundar.
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