Most runs for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, over 600 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year at a strike rate of 175.07, and leading his teams to back-to-back finals (Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and Punjab Kings in 2025), isn’t that enough for Shreyas Iyer to find a place in the Indian T20I side?
Well, the reality is that Iyer did not.
The BCCI on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025, scheduled to start in the UAE on 9 September. The right-hander didn’t even find a place in the list of five standby players. Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, who has worked with Iyer at Kolkata Knight Riders, couldn’t digest what he saw.
“I don’t know, actually, I wanted to ask that question – aapke reserve players mein kaise nahi hai woh (how can he not be even in your reserve player’s list), if he is such a strong contender. Sometimes, you know, selection meetings can be quite interesting, and the discussions that happen in them can be very interesting,” Nayar said on Star Sports.
Iyer has been India’s mainstay in the middle order, especially in ODIs, in the last couple of years. But somewhere, the Mumbai batter couldn’t cement his spot in India’s T20I setup. His strong performances in the IPL-the world’s richest and toughest T20 league-didn’t seem to have caught the attention of the BCCI selectors.
Is Shreyas Iyer not liked in Indian dressing room?
That brings a question as to whether Iyer is in BCCI’s T20I scheme of things, something that Nayar also agreed upon. He also stated that Iyer must not be liked as someone else in the team. “But I can’t fathom, and I don’t understand, what reason can justify Shreyas Iyer not being part of that 20-member squad,” added Nayar.
“I’m not even talking about the 15, I’m talking about the 20-member squad, which sends a message to Shreyas Iyer that he is not in the team’s scheme of things. So, the big question here is that maybe they are not looking at him from a T20 point of view – or perhaps any other point of view. Maybe Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else. Maybe.”
What did Ajit Agarkar say on Shreyas Iyer snub?
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar saw no fault with Iyer, adding he might have to wait a little bit more for his opportunity. The last time Iyer played a T20I for India was in 2023 against Australia in Bengaluru. “With regards to Shreyas, there’s no fault of his – nor is it ours. It’s just that we can only pick 15, and at the moment, he might have to wait for his chance,” he said.
India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh; Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.