Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has received his maiden call as the BCCI announced the full Indian men's cricket team squad for the Asian Games 2026. Big names like Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill have been dropped.
Shreyas Iyer will lead the Men in Blue in the tournament. The Asian Games 2026 will be held in Japan from September to October.
The Indian team will be looking to add another glory to their decorated trophy cabinet at the tournament. India won gold in both the men's and women's cricket categories at the 2023 Asian Games Hangzhou, China.
Iyer was also named as the Indian team's new T20I captain for the series in Ireland and England in June and July. He has replaced Suryakumar Yadav. Tilak Varma has been chosen as the vice captain.
Iyer has not played a T20I since December 2023 due to the selectors being unable to find a place for him. However, with Yadav's poor performance in T20Is, the 31-year-old will step up to handle the captaincy.
Shreyas Iyer has showcased his leadership capabilities during the IPL. He led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title in 2024. Under his leadership, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings have reached the finals in 2020 and 2025, respectively.
Notably, Indian selectors have gone with two wicketkeepers for the Asian Games - Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. Both players played a pivotal role in India's victory in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Samson was chosen as the Player of the Tournament. He scored 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37.
Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy will lead India's bowling attack in the Asian Games.
The cricket matches at the Asian Games will be played in T20 format. The men's tournament will start on September 24, with the medal matches taking place on October 13. Ten teams will participate in the sport. Three days of preliminary matches will take place before the quarter-finals.
Indian Men's Cricket Team: Full Squad
Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
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