India, Sept. 9 -- A day before the start of the Asia Cup 2025, Shreyas Iyer opened up like never before. The India batter, who was left out of the 15-member squad for the battle of the subcontinent, has been appointed captain of India A for a couple of multi-day matches against Australia A starting September 16. Having played a pivotal part for India at the Champions Trophy earlier this year and then leading Punjab Kings to the final of the IPL 2025, ideally makes a player undroppable. But this is Indian cricket, where the competition for each and every spot is fierce. Unfortunately, Iyer fell behind in the pecking order, so much so that the selectors even left him out of the reserves.

However, this setback pales in comparison to the one...