Teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi has been included in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s 30-member longlist of probables for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, keeping the door open for the youngster to represent India at the continental event.
The BCCI has submitted the longlist to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ahead of the Games, which will be held from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
Suryavanshi fast tracked after IPL heroics
Suryavanshi earned his place in the longlist after a breakthrough Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The 15-year-old left-hander impressed with his fearless batting and emerged as one of the tournament's biggest discoveries.
The teenager grabbed headlines with several match-winning knocks and showcased his ability to dominate experienced bowlers despite his young age. His performances have fast-tracked him into India's white-ball plans and now put him in contention for a maiden senior international assignment.
Why Shubman and Surya are missing out?
India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill are the two biggest names missing from the list.
Gill is expected to lead India during the ODI leg of the home white-ball series against the West Indies, which overlaps with the Asian Games schedule. The series includes three ODIs and five T20Is between Sept 27 and Oct 17, forcing selectors to prepare two separate squads.
Suryakumar's omission is also not a surprise. Reports suggest the veteran batter is no longer part of India's long-term plans for the 2028 Olympics and the next T20 World Cup cycle.
Among the potential captaincy options for the Asian Games squad are Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma.
Before the excitement reaches a head, being named in the longlist does not guarantee selection, but it confirms that a player is under consideration for the final squad.
The list also includes leading bowlers such as Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana, while Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Harsh Dubey feature among the spin options. Selectors are expected to split players between the Asian Games and the overlapping West Indies series before finalising both squads.
BCCI's longlist to IOA
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Ayush Badoni, , Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravi Bishnoi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Vipraj Nigam Nigam, Harshit Rana, Yash Thakur, Washington Sundar.
(With PTI inputs)
