No other cricket board has as many player choices as the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Young players often step up and perform beyond expectations, proving their talent in the tough Indian Premier League. Take into account Shreyas Iyer’s case, who wasn’t part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 team, despite being one of India’s best middle-order batters for some time now. But the BCCI might have an exciting option now.
As per a source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the board may adopt a split squad strategy to help India dominate world cricket. After the big success of Indian Premier League 2026, and with many players performing strongly, the selectors have reportedly shortlisted a pool of 30–35 players, which could be divided into two separate teams.
Board of Control for Cricket in India may make Shreyas Iyer India’s new T20I captain
Both teams will play at the same time, with Shreyas Iyer captaining one of those sides. Team India have a jam-packed calendar post-IPL 2026. After hosting Afghanistan for a multi-format series, India have a full-fledged UK tour, where they play against Ireland and England. Against Ireland, the BCCI plans to make Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the youngest debutant ever as well.
Away Test matches against Sri Lanka are also scheduled, followed by a short tour of Zimbabwe. However, things could get even more intense, as India might end up playing two matches on the same day. For those unaware, this year, Japan will host the Asian Games from September 17 to October 3, 2026. Meanwhile, the West Indies are also slated to tour India for five T20Is and 3 ODIs at the very same time.
That could be the moment where you can see Team India featured twice on the same day, with different squads altogether. Having a leader like Shreyas Iyer would help, as he is touted to take reins from Suryakumar Yadav, whose career is at risk despite taking India to the T20 World Cup 2026 win.
Shreyas Iyer has been one of the best captains in the Indian Premier League since 2020, with the highest win/loss ratio (1.6). He has led three different teams to the final and also won the title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024.
A BCCI official told NDTV, “The Asian Games and India vs West Indies T20 Series are going to be at the same time. So we have to look at two T20 teams playing. It is important from now to have a pool of 30-35 cricketers who can be called up for International assignments. For the upcoming Ireland tour, like most tours to UK, a bigger pool of players will be kept in the squad. This will extend for the Asian Games.”