BCCI Extend Chairman of Selection Committee's Contract Until 2026

The Indian Cricket Team is set to play the Asia Cup 2025 in September. Days before the tournament, the controversies around the recently released squad have blown up on social media. Cricket experts and pundits are not happy with the fact that the selection committee left out Shreyas Iyer despite having a stellar performance in the IPL, Champions Trophy, and the domestic season. Starting from scoring runs to leading the team, Iyer has done it all. Under his leadership, Punjab Kings (PBKS) qualified for the finals in the IPL after ten years. There are many accolades in his name at this moment, but it wasn't enough to earn a seat in the Asia Cup squad.
After the squad was released, multiple reports have come forward suggesting that Shreyas will most likely be the captain of the ODI team after Rohit Sharma's retirement. While there is no official confirmation on the news, the ODI series is almost two months away, and the selectors wouldn't want to discuss that ahead of the Asia Cup 2025. Amidst all the rumours, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a significant decision to extend Ajit Agarkar's contract as chairman of the selection committee. It's a significant move for Team India, one of the best teams in the world.

Ajit Agarkar Contract Extended to 2026

With Ajit Agarkar contract extended up to June 2026, BCCI will now have their complete focus set on the Asia Cup 2025. The news arrived just two days after the official India squad was released. Agarkar received a significant vote of confidence from the BCCI members, thus extending his contract. As per reports, the contract was already finalised before the Indian Premier League 2025 season. The board is impressed with the way Agarkar has handled the team and the players. In the absence of senior players, forming a side to beat England in their home ground was quite a smart job.

Agarkar came into power in 2023, and since then, India reached the ODI World Cup 2023, won the T20 World Cup 2024, the Champions Trophy 2025, and drew the Test series against England. His impressive work is quite evident, and that is why the board members supported him for an extension. It will be important to see how the upcoming tournaments and the cricket season will unfold for India. Several Tests and ODIs are coming up, along with the T20 World Cup 2026, which is not far away.

Asia Cup 2025: BCCI Reveals India Squad

The selection committee has released India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the tournament along with Shubman Gill as his deputy. There are many controversies related to the squad and the selection of Gill as the vice-captain. The cricket experts raised concerns for Iyer and Jaiswal, as they have been in form and have performed well in the past as well. Gill last played for India in T20Is back in July 2024. He is currently one of the best batters in India.

Meanwhile, SKY and Hardik Pandya have cleared the fitness test and will be available for the tournament. They are the backbone of the team, and having them around will be helpful. Moreover, Jasprit Bumrah's inclusion has been a great move as well since the Asia Cup is extremely important, and Bumrah's experience will help India throughout the tournament. However, Harshit Rana's inclusion in the team is still a question mark for many fans and experts, as he has played just one T20I for India. Overall, the squad looks quite impressive for the tournament.

Asia Cup 2025 India Squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh