New Delhi: Shreyas Iyer reportedly ‘declined’ the offer to lead the West Zone team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025, expecting a call-up in India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Iyer, who last featured in a T20I for India in December 2023, was expected to make a return to the squad for the Asia Cup after his heroics for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2025.
However, he was left out as Shubman Gill made his comeback in the T20I setup as the vice-captain for the continental tournament. Gill was named Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the Asia Cup after enjoying a stellar campaign in the recently concluded Test series against England. However, Iyer’s non-inclusion left many in shock, including some former cricketers.
As per a report in the Times of India, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) offered West Zone’s captaincy to Iyer for the Duleep Trophy. However, the batter rejected the offer, anticipating a call-up for the Asia Cup, where his participation would have resulted in him pulling out of the domestic tournament. After Iyer declined, MCA appointed Shardul Thakur as the West Zone captain.
As per the report, Iyer was also undergoing white-ball training with his personal coach, Pravin Amre, at MCA’s indoor facility in the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai to prepare for the Asia Cup. However, he was snubbed from the 15-man squad as well as the reserves for the tournament.
“Yes, it’s true Iyer turned down the offer from the West Zone selection committee to captain the team. After that, the chairman of the committee, Sanjay Patil, who is also the Mumbai chief selector, approached Thakur to lead West Zone, an opportunity that Thakur gladly accepted,” a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Iyer will now play under Shardul’s captaincy for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025. While there has been a lot of debate over his non-inclusion in the Asia Cup 2025 squad, chief selector Ajit Agarkar called the batter unlucky, arguing that there was no space for the star batter in Team India’s 15-man squad.
Shreyas Iyer’s phenomenal show in IPL 2025