The Weekly Wicket: India’s Asia Cup Squad to Pujara's Retirement - Cricket’s Top Highlights (PICS)
From India’s Asia Cup squad reveal and Women’s World Cup team selection to South Africa’s ODI win and venue shifts, cricket buzzed with action. Rinku Singh’s century and debates over Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion further spiced up an eventful week.
The penultimate week of August has been packed with major announcements, squad selection debates, ranking glitches, and series-defining performances that shaped the cricketing narrative. Right from India’s Asia Cup and Women’s World Cup squad announcements to Cheteshwar Pujara's retirement from all forms of Indian cricket, the week encapsulated highs. farewell, and discussions that kept cricket fans hooked.
Let’s take a look at the top highlights of the week in cricket:
The BCCI senior men’s team chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, announced India’s much-awaited 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, August 15. Agarkar unveiled the roster at the press conference, which was also attended by India T20I captain Suryakumar at the board’s headquarters in Mumbai. The selectors picked 15 players rather than 17 as per the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) selection criteria, keeping in mind the next year’s T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host.
The squad saw the return of Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah in T20Is, with the former being appointed as captain, while Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakravarthy retained their place in India’s T20I squad. However, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal were left out of the squad despite brilliant performances in the IPL 2025.
Just after India’s squad announcement for the Asia Cup 2025 by Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI senior women’s team chief selector, Neetu David, unveiled the 15-member squad for the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 at the press conference in Mumbai. David was joined by Harmanpreet Kaur for the squad announcement. The ICC Hall of Famer also announced the squad for the Australia ODI series.
The squad saw the return of Renuka Thakur, who was sidelined from the cricketing actions since December last year due to a back stress injury, while Shafali Verma was excluded from the squad. The selectors retained almost the squad that was selected for the recent ODI series against England.
The exclusion of Shreyas Iyer became the major topic of discussion among the Indian fraternity. Several questions were raised regarding Iyer’s snubbing from the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025. The 30-year-old amassed 604 runs in 17 matches while leading the Punjab Kings to their first final since 2014. Additionally, Iyer made a brilliant comeback to international cricket in the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy this year, where he was India’s highest run-getter.
Former Mumbai cricketer and India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar lambasted the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion and hinted at favouritism in the 15-member squad. Shreyas Iyer’s father, Santosh Iyer, was unfathomable behind his son’s snub, highlighting his performance in the IPL 2025 and his role in the KKR to their third IPL triumph last year.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports officially announced that Indian athletes, irrespective of any sport, will not face Pakistan in any bilateral event, be it on Indian soil or in Pakistan. Therefore, the Indian cricket team will not take part in any bilateral engagement across all formats against Pakistan. The announcement came amid the backlash over BCCI agreeing to play Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack
However, the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry clarified that India and Pakistan will face off in international events across all sports. This means the Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan on September 14 will take place as per the schedule. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Hockey Team refused to travel to India for the Asia Cup due to security concerns.
The glitch by the International Cricket Council (ICC) resulted in the removal of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from the ODI rankings. This caused panic among fans, who believed that two Indian batting stalwarts quietly stepped away from the shortest format after retiring from Tests and T20Is, pulling the curtains down on their international careers. The glitch occurred a week after Rohit Sharma moved to the second spot, while Virat Kohli retained the fourth position in the ODI rankings.
After fans raised their concerns on social media, the ICC immediately fixed the glitch, and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were reinstated in the ODI rankings. Rohit and Kohli will continue to play ODI cricket and are set to make an international comeback in the ODI series against Australia, starting on October 19.
South Africa dominated Australia in the ongoing ODI series, taking a 2-0 lead in the series. The Proteas won the opening match by 98 runs in Cairns, where Aiden Markram (82), skipper Temba Bavuma (65), and Matthew Breetzke (57) scored fifties, while Keshav Maharaj shone with the ball by registering a five-wicket haul, which resulted in reclaiming the No.1 spot in the ODI rankings.
In the second ODI, the Temba Bavuma-led side sealed the three-match series with an 86-run win over Australia at Mackay, where Breetzke (88) and Tristan Stubbs (74) shone with fifties, while pacer Lungi Ngidi scalped five wickets to dismantle the hosts’ batting lineup and secure a comprehensive series-clinching victory for the Proteas.
Indian middle-order batter could not have asked better way to celebrate his selection to the Asia Cup 2025 than hitting a century in the ongoing UP T20 League. Captaining Meerut Maverick, Rinku played a blazing, unbeaten knock of 108 off 48 balls to guide his team to a six-wicket win over Gorakhpur Lions, chasing down the 168-run target in 18.4 overs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground.
Amid the uncertainty over his selection as he was reportedly in contention for the 15th spot alongside Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, and Riyan Parag, Rinku’s explosive innings not only silenced the debate but also showcased his readiness to deliver on bigger stages for Team India.
One of India's most dependable batters, Cheteshwar Pujara, has announced his decision to retire from all forms of Indian cricket. Pujara took to his social media handles and penned a heartfelt note reflecting on his journey from a young Rajkot Boy to representing India at the international level. Pujara's last appearance for India was in the World Test Championship Final (WTC) 2023 against Australia.
Pujara mainly played Test cricket in his 13-year international career and amassed 7195 runs, including 19 centuries and 35 fifties, at an average of 43.60 in 103 matches. Cheteshwar Pujara played his 100th Test match against Australia in 2023 in Delhi.
One of the biggest developments ahead of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 is that four fixtures at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru have been shifted to DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. As per the latest update by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which was released on August 22, matches in Bengaluru have been relocated to Navi Mumbai after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) failed to secure due to safety concerns raised after a stadium stampede in June.
Initially, Thiruvanathanpuram’s Greenfield Cricket Stadium was considered an alternative, but there are already fixtures allocated to the venue; thus, Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium as finalized to accommodate the shifted matches owing to its proven infrastructure and history of successfully hosting women’s cricket tournaments, including the Women’s Premier League and bilateral series.