When a nation's cricket selectors choose who will represent it on the continental stage, they wield a power that extends beyond sport — they arbitrate merit, shape careers, and signal what values the institution holds. India's Asia Cup 2025 squad announcement, which left out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer despite their recent excellence, has drawn sharp public challenge from former cricketer and politician Manoj Tiwary, who sees in the omissions not merely questionable judgment but a deeper failure of accountability. The episode revives an enduring tension in Indian cricket: whether selecti
Tiwary targets Gambhir over Jaiswal, Iyer Asia Cup snub; demands live selection
Now that he himself is the coach, there is no place for Yashasvi
Mark
So Tiwary is saying Gambhir praised Jaiswal before, and now that he's coach, Jaiswal is out. That's a direct contradiction, right?
Mimi
That's the accusation. Tiwary is pointing to Gambhir's own words from earlier—public statements where he said Jaiswal could walk into the T20 team anytime. Now Gambhir is the one making the decision, and Jaiswal isn't even in the main squad.
Luke
But we should be careful here. We don't have the full context of when Gambhir said that, or what the current squad needs. Tiwary is making an inference about Gambhir's motives, but the source doesn't give us Gambhir's explanation for the omission.
Mark
What about Iyer? Tiwary says he averaged in the 50s in the IPL, led KKR to a title, led Punjab to a final. That's a strong case.
Mimi
It is. Iyer's resume for this year is genuinely impressive. He was also key to India's Champions Trophy win. So the question becomes: if Iyer performed that well across multiple formats, why wasn't he selected?
Luke
Again, we're not hearing from the selectors. We have Tiwary's argument, but not their reasoning. They may have had cricket reasons we simply don't know yet.
Mark
And the live selection idea—is that realistic?
Mimi
Tiwary has been pushing for it for years, according to the piece. He sees it as a way to force accountability. If selections were broadcast live with explanations, there'd be no room for hidden preferences.
Luke
That's a structural argument, not specific to this squad. It's worth noting that Tiwary is using this moment to advance a broader agenda about transparency in Indian cricket selection.
Mark
So we have a real omission—two strong players left out—but we don't actually know why.
Mimi
Exactly. The controversy is real. The reasoning is not public yet.
Le Pouls
- Two of India's most in-form batters — Jaiswal and Iyer — were left out of the Asia Cup squad despite standout IPL 2025 campaigns, with Iyer excluded entirely after leading Punjab Kings to the final.
- The contradiction is pointed: head coach Gambhir had publicly praised Jaiswal's T20 readiness, yet now holds the authority that has kept him off the main squad.
- Tiwary, carrying a long personal tension with Gambhir from their playing days, has seized the moment to question not just these two omissions but the entire logic of how selections are made.
- His loudest demand is structural — that selection meetings be broadcast live, forcing selectors to justify each decision in real time rather than behind closed doors.
- With India's Asia Cup opener against UAE on September 10 and the Pakistan clash on September 14, the squad is set — but the legitimacy of how it was built remains fiercely contested.
When a nation's cricket selectors choose who will represent it on the continental stage, they wield a power that extends beyond sport — they arbitrate merit, shape careers, and signal what values the institution holds. India's Asia Cup 2025 squad announcement, which left out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer despite their recent excellence, has drawn sharp public challenge from former cricketer and politician Manoj Tiwary, who sees in the omissions not merely questionable judgment but a deeper failure of accountability. The episode revives an enduring tension in Indian cricket: whether selection is a transparent act of meritocracy or an opaque exercise of institutional power.
India's Asia Cup 2025 squad announcement triggered immediate controversy when it emerged that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer had been left out despite strong recent form. Jaiswal was named only as a reserve, while Iyer — who had captained Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title and led Punjab Kings to the 2025 final — was omitted altogether. The decisions were attributed to head coach Gautam Gambhir and selection chief Ajit Agarkar.
Former Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, now West Bengal's Minister of State for Sports, was quick to challenge the logic. He pointed to a specific inconsistency: Gambhir had previously praised Jaiswal as someone who could walk into India's T20 side at any time. With Gambhir now holding selection power, that praise had not translated into a place in the squad. Tiwary also highlighted Iyer's record — consistent runs across formats, a Champions Trophy 2025 winner's medal, and IPL 2025 averages in the 50s — and found the omission difficult to justify.
Beyond the individual cases, Tiwary used the moment to push for structural reform. He renewed his call for selection meetings to be conducted and broadcast live, arguing that transparency would force selectors to align their stated principles with their actual choices. Without it, he suggested, selections risk appearing driven by preference rather than performance.
As India prepares to open their Asia Cup campaign on September 10 against the UAE, the squad is fixed. But Tiwary's intervention has ensured that questions about how it was assembled will follow the team into the tournament.
India's selection committee announced its 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025, and within hours, the decision to leave out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer had fractured into open dispute. Jaiswal, who had impressed in the IPL 2025, was relegated to reserve status. Iyer, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title the previous season and led Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final this year, was omitted entirely. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar made the calls, and the backlash was immediate.
Manoj Tiwary, the former Bengal captain now serving as West Bengal's Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, did not wait long to challenge the decision. Tiwary and Gambhir have carried tension between them since their playing days, and this moment gave Tiwary a platform to air a specific grievance: Gambhir, in earlier public statements, had praised Jaiswal as a player capable of walking into India's T20 team at any moment. Now that Gambhir held the power to select, Jaiswal found himself on the outside.
Tiwary's critique extended beyond Jaiswal. He pointed to Iyer's track record across formats—the runs piled up in domestic cricket, the consistency in the IPL, the role he played in India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 victory. Iyer had averaged in the 50s while scoring heavily in the IPL 2025, yet the selection committee deemed him expendable for a continental tournament. The omission seemed, to Tiwary, to defy logic.
But Tiwary's complaint reached beyond the two players themselves. He used the moment to renew a long-standing call for structural change: the selection process, he argued, should be conducted live and broadcast openly so that cricket followers could see not just who was chosen, but the reasoning behind each decision. Transparency, in his view, would expose the gaps between stated principles and actual choices. Without it, selections appeared arbitrary, driven by preference rather than performance.
India's Asia Cup campaign would begin on September 10 against the UAE, with the marquee fixture against Pakistan scheduled for September 14 in Dubai. By then, the squad would be set. But the controversy had already planted a question in the minds of observers: whether the selections reflected genuine cricket judgment or something else entirely. Tiwary's intervention ensured the debate would not fade quietly before the tournament began.
Citations marquantes
Two deserving candidates have been left out of the team. One is Shreyas Iyer, and the other is Yashasvi Jaiswal. If you see old videos of the current head coach Gautam Gambhir, he had said that Yashasvi Jaiswal is such a player who at any given moment can walk into India's T20 team.— Manoj Tiwary, quoted by ANI
The selection process should be made live so that sports lovers know who has been selected and why.— Manoj Tiwary
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