Arjit Kumar - Thursday, Aug 21, 2025After the announcement of the Indian team for Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, the biggest debate was about Shreyas Iyer not being included in the team, even though he has performed brilliantly in all formats for India. Now, his father Santosh Iyer has also expressed his disappointment over Shreyas Iyer not being selected in the team.
His father said that Iyer has been a great captain in the IPL from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings, but when it comes to selecting the international T20 team, the Indian team management ignores him. Santosh Iyer further admitted that his son has always been calm by nature, but such neglect by the BCCI must be weighing heavy on his heart.
Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel, "I think Mohammad Siraj's name should have been in the team. Siraj bowled very well in the recent series (against England). If he had been taken, the team would have looked even stronger. The bowling unit would have looked strong. I think the X-factor that Siraj brings was perhaps missed to some extent."
The former spinner also expressed surprise at Shreyas Iyer being dropped from the team despite his good performance and form in the IPL. He was hoping that Iyer would get a place in the team, but he was surprised not to see his name in the team.
Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma is reportedly keen to play in the three unofficial ODIs between India A and Australia A. These three matches will be played in Kanpur between September 30 and October 5. The Hitman was last seen in an international match in the Champions Trophy final earlier this year, after which he announced his retirement from Test cricket.
According to RevSportz, India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma is keen to play in the upcoming unofficial ODI series between India A and Australia A. These matches are scheduled to take place in September-October and it will help him prepare for India's tour of Australia later this year. The 38-year-old Rohit Sharma has not played any international cricket since March.
Former Pakistan T20I captain Mohammad Rizwan has joined St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League 2025. He will replace Fazalhaq Farooqi, who will join Afghanistan ahead of the tri-series in the UAE.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, the league is expected to officially confirm the deal within the next 24 hours. It is not yet clear whether Rizwan will be available for the match between St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Barbados Royals on Thursday, August 21. However, with Pakistan keeping him out of the Asia Cup and the upcoming UAE tri-series, Rizwan has been given the permission to play in the CPL.
Ahead of the long domestic season, Mumbai cricket and its fans have received shocking news. Veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane has resigned from the captaincy ahead of the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. In a message on social media, Rahane made it clear that this is the time when the team should get a chance to develop new leadership.
Rahane wrote, 'It was a great honor for me to lead the Mumbai team and win the tournament. Now that a new domestic season is about to start and I feel it is necessary to prepare a new captaincy for new responsibilities. So I have decided to step down from captaincy. I am fully committed as a batsman and will continue to play for Mumbai, with the goal of winning the latest trophy.'
Based on the statistics, it is clear that Jitesh Sharma's claim for the middle order is stronger than Sanju Samson's. Although Samson has more experience and he has been getting opportunities for a long time, but if Team India wants to play an aggressive brand of cricket in the Asia Cup, then it would be more logical to include a batsman like Jitesh Sharma in the lower order.
Former Indian legendary batsman and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has selected his favorite Indian playing XI for Asia Cup 2025. His team has some surprising names, while some explosive hitters have not been given a place. This selection of Gavaskar has become a topic of discussion among cricket fans and experts. This playing-11 of Gavaskar is a mix of experience and new talent. While there are aggressive batsmen in the top order, there is variety in the bowling attack. The bowling also looks strong.
Gavaskar's chosen XI: Abhishek Sharma Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain) Tilak Verma Suryakumar Yadav (Captain) Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper) Hardik Pandya Axar Patel Arshdeep Singh Jasprit Bumrah Varun Chakravarthy.
