Asian Games: BCCI drop Suryakumar, Gill; Sooryavanshi included

MUMBAI: The BCCI has submitted a 30-player longlist for the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, and there are some major surprises.

India’s current T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav is missing.

Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is also not included.

But perhaps the biggest talking point is the inclusion of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Why have India’s two captains been left out? And what does this mean for the future of Indian cricket?

Asian Games schedule clash explained

The Asian Games cricket competition will take place from September 24 to October 3, 2026.

However, during almost the same period, India will be hosting the West Indies in a white-ball series.

That series includes three One-Day Internationals and five T20 Internationals, running from September 27 to October 17.

Because of this scheduling overlap, the BCCI already knew it would need to prepare two separate squads.

One team will represent India at the Asian Games, while another team will face the West Indies at home.

This unusual situation has forced selectors to create a larger pool of players and plan for multiple combinations well in advance.