The Shreyas Iyer selection conundrum

Shreyas Iyer's omission from the Indian team for the Asia Cup has triggered a deafening uproar, particularly on social media, which is abuzz with memes, cryptic posts and direct criticism. So much so, even his father, Santosh Iyer, questioned Ajit Agarkar's selection committee decision. Even R Ashwin and Irfan Pathan have joined the chorus, asking how both Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal could be ignored.

Those, indeed, seem fair and legitimate posers considering the rules of the Asia Cup. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), in its guidelines to the participating teams, says, a side can have a 17-member squad.

The relevant clause in the Asia Cup guidelines says: "Each squad will comprise seventeen (17) players, and eight (8) team officials. The touring squad from any participating country will therefore comprise twenty five (25) individuals."

Agarkar's defence was this: "With regards to Shreyas, I mean, we'll have to tell you who he can replace. Again, no fault of his, nor is it ours. It's just that we can only pick 15 and at the moment he will have to wait for his chance," the chief selector said, explaining the omission of Iyer from the Asia Cup squad.

His explanation for leaving out Jaiswal was: "With regards to Yashasvi, it's just unfortunate. With Abhishek Sharma... what he has done over the last few months or a year or so that he has been with the team, plus that he can bowl a little bit. (That) gives us some options if required by the captain. One of these guys will always be going to miss out. It's just unfortunate that Yashasvi might have to wait for his chance."

With such a clause in place, does Agarkar's "no fault of his, nor is it ours. It's just that we can only pick 15..." justification really hold? Much as the selectors' contention sounds tenable, the backlash could still, perhaps, have been avoided.

MSK Prasad offered a perspective on the issue. "My issue is not just about Iyer, but Mohammed Siraj too. Unless he has been rested as part of workload management, he should have been in the squad. He was the Player of the Match in the last Asia Cup (50-over) final.

"When they had the option of taking 17, they could have gone with the full-strength. I would have included two of the three - Iyer, Siraj and Jaiswal. That said, I can also understand why they may have avoided picking 17. Having too many players on the bench puts pressure on the XI," the former chief selector told Cricbuzz.

A BCCI source said since all bases were covered, the selectors felt there was no need to pick 17. Not every participating country has announced their sides but Pakistan and Hong Kong have confirmed that they will field 17-member squads.

Pragyan Ojha in Asia Cup panel

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha has been appointed to the technical committee of the Asia Cup. As a member of the panel, he will help adjudicate cricketing disputes, including decisions on approving or rejecting mid-tournament replacements.

The technical committee, in fact, is in charge of running the tournament. The panel also will be in charge of appointing the match officials. It ensures the rules of the game are fully adhered to. There would be representatives from a few other countries as well, if not from all eight participating nations.

Ojha (38), a respected former international with 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is to his name, has also served on the IPL Governing Council and represented the Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA).