In a call for greater transparency within Indian cricket, former India and KKR star batter Manoj Tiwary has proposed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should live telecast its selection meetings. Tiwary, who have believes this would demystify the selection process for the public, allowing fans to comprehend the specific criteria used by selectors when including or excluding players from the senior national team.
Manoj Tiwary wants live telecast of India's team selection
Tiwary's suggestion was prompted by the recent announcement of India's Asia Cup squad. He argued that both Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal merited a place in the main team. The 15-member squad, revealed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, named Suryakumar Yadav as captain and saw the return of Shubman Gill as vice-captain. Gill's inclusion was particularly noteworthy as he had been absent from the T20I setup for over a year.
The selection decisions have ignited considerable debate among fans and experts. The choice to bring back Shubman Gill while overlooking star players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer from the 15-member primary squad has drawn criticism.
The final composition of the team and its reserves further fueled the discussion. While Yashasvi Jaiswal was named as a standby player, Iyer was completely omitted, failing to secure a spot even on the five-member reserve list.
“People who deserve opportunities are not getting them. That is why I have long been saying that selection meetings should be live telecast so that sports enthusiasts understand why a player is chosen and why another is not. Simply coming to a press conference, offering a line or two about an exclusion, and then doing something different is not right,” Tiwary told ANI news agency.
Based on his stellar performance in the IPL 2025, Iyer was widely anticipated to be named in the 15-man squad for the Asia Cup. Representing Punjab Kings, Mumbai batter enjoyed a breakout season, amassing 602 runs at a blistering strike rate of 175. This marked a significant evolution in his playing style, as he successfully adopted a high-risk, aggressive approach to meet the team's demands, a stark contrast to his previous seasons where his strike rate had never exceeded 150.
In another surprising move, Jaiswal, who was a member of India's T20 World Cup squad last year, was left out of the main team. The selectors instead recalled Shubman Gill to serve as the backup opening batsman, choosing him over Jaiswal for the role. Addressing the difficult selection choices, chief selector Ajit Agarkar acknowledged the challenge of trimming down the squad to just 15 players, given the immense depth of talent in Indian T20 cricket. Agarkar clarified that Iyer's omission was not a reflection of any shortcoming on the player's part, nor did it represent a failure by the selection committee, but was rather a consequence of the intense competition for places.
“Two deserving candidates, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, have missed out. If you look at old interviews of Gautam Gambhir, he said Yashasvi Jaiswal is a player who cannot be left out of T20 cricket. Now, with Gambhir himself as coach, Yashasvi still has no place,” Tiwary added.
“Also, if you consider the performances of Shreyas Iyer over the past year — in the IPL and domestic cricket — and the way he has captained, it is surprising he has not been selected. The way he led in the IPL makes it even more eye-opening that he is absent from the squad,” he concluded.
Looking ahead, India is scheduled to commence its Asia Cup campaign on September 10th with a match against the UAE. The tournament will kick off a day earlier, on September 9th, with an opening fixture between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.