‘Has become a case of musical chairs’ – Ex-India batter on Shreyas Iyer’s appointment as India A captain

Ex-India batter on Shreyas Iyer’s appointment as India A captain. (Photo source: X)

The All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, announced India A’s 15-member squad for the upcoming series against Australia A. The series will begin with a couple of four-day fixtures and Shreyas Iyer has been named the captain of the side ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran, while Dhruv Jurel has been handed the vice-captaincy. This does not sit well with former India cricketer and renowned commentator Aakash Chopra.

The ex-India opener opined that the case of handing captaincy to the players has become like a game of musical chair, further citing that there is no consistency in maintaining a sort of stability on the leadership front. Chopra further believes that Iyer has been named as the skipper of the India A’s red-ball side despite not being a regular in the Test squad, but believes that upcoming home conditions might favour his cause to make a comeback.

“Different captains have been made in three consecutive series. What is happening? Shreyas Iyer is the captain and Dhruv Jurel is the vice-captain. However, I am thinking that Abhimanyu Easwaran used to be the captain, but his name has disappeared from there. He is a member of the team for sure, but his name is not there in the list of captain and vice-captain,” Chopra said in a video on his official YouTube channel.

“Shreyas Iyer has come, and if you see the last few series, you see a new captain in every series. So the India A captaincy has become a case of musical chairs. Why has Shreyas Iyer been elevated? It’s because the No. 3 and No. 6 spots are still vacant. Sai Sudharsan’s name is there for sure. So he is also a part of this team. Abhimanyu Easwaran’s name is also there, and he is also a part of this team,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

India A squad for Australia A series: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper and vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur

Note: KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj will be added to the squad for the 2nd multi-day match and will replace two players in the squad after the 1st multi-day match, as confirmed by BCCI.