Shreyas Iyer, who has been a key presence in India’s middle order across formats, has faced challenges with form and fitness in the past. Since India’s last T20 World Cup triumph, Shreyas Iyer has played 26 matches and scored 949 runs at an average of 49.94 and a strike rate of 179.73, with one century and seven fifties. His best score is 130 not out.
Following a fiery Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the bat and with the Asia Cup approaching in the T20 format, there was speculation over whether Shreyas Iyer would return to the shortest format. However, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee chose not to include the stylish batter Shreyas Iyer in the squad.
Shreyas Iyer’s unprecedented T20 peak
Moreover, having led his teams to successive IPL finals – KKR in 2024 and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2025 – Shreyas Iyer has also proven his worth as a leader. The PBKS skipper truly led his team from the front in 2025, scoring 604 runs from 17 innings at an average of 50.33 with six fifties.
However, Shreyas Iyer’s impact on the team was beyond numbers, as he left a golden chance to complete his maiden IPL century in the first match itself by deciding not to farm the strike and let Shashank Singh finish the innings with a flurry of boundaries. The selfless act sent the right message across the team as the leader was ready to sacrifice his personal milestones in pursuit of the team’s goal.
In the knockouts, Punjab faced the Herculean task of chasing 204 against the best bowling attack of the tournament, but Iyer took it upon himself to take them over the line as he even took on the beast named ‘Jasprit Bumrah’ to seal the deal for his side.
There were numerous compelling reasons for Shreyas’ inclusion: 604 delightful runs while leading Punjab Kings to the final in this year’s IPL, at an average of 50.33 and a fabulous strike-rate of 175.07, easily the best among the ten highest run-getters (Shreyas sat at No. 6).
His experience and expertise against the turning ball on the same surfaces where his middle-order composure and nous were pivotal to India’s success in the 50-over Champions Trophy in February-March.
His recent emergence as an accomplished player of the short ball, which had troubled him no end until a year and a bit back. His ability to take the fight to the bowlers from the off, a character trait T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir are strong advocates of. His tactical awareness and leadership bucket that Suryakumar could have dipped into in a tight corner.
His electric agility and excellent fielding, anywhere on the park. And yet, here is Shreyas Iyer, not only missing from the 15-man party but also omitted from the reserves. Seeing the unrest amongst the fans and experts regarding exclusion of Shreyas Iyer from the Asia Cup 2025 squad Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif is left baffled with Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion and has asked the questions regarding the same.
Mohammad Kaif slams Indian selectors and management for non inclusion of Shreyas Iyer for Asia Cup 2025
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that the Indian selectors and management didn’t do justice to in-form Shreyas Iyer by axing him from the 15-player squad for next month’s Asia Cup.
Shreyas’ omission from the squad after a bumper Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with Punjab Kings (PBKS) as captain has sparked criticism from fans and former cricketers.
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained Shreyas’ absence during the squad announcement and told reporters, “With regards to Shreyas, it’s not his fault, nor is it ours. It’s just that you can pick 15, and at the moment you’ll have to wait for his chance.”
The majority have voiced in favour of the 30-year-old, citing several reasons for his inclusion in the highly anticipated tournament. Kaif has now joined the ranks and admitted that he has struggled to understand Shreyas’ absence.
“Shreyas Iyer’s name didn’t come up; the selectors said that it was a difficult task to fit him since only 15 could be selected. I can understand all that. I approve of you in this. But even after praising him, his name wasn’t even in the standbys,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
What surprised Kaif more was that Shreyas couldn’t even find a seat in the reserves list. The former gun-fielder questioned the logic behind Dhruv Jurel being named in the reserves despite the presence of wicketkeepers Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma.
“There is Jaiswal in the list, and you have Jurel. There is no need for Jurel. If the selectors really like Iyer, he should have been named in the standbys. If someone got injured, he could’ve gone there,” he said.
“You won’t see Shreyas Iyer in the Asia Cup, which I think was wrong. His name should be in the standbys 100 per cent. Speaking of Jurel, you see Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are already there in the squad. You pick Jurel there, and kept Parag in the standbys. I think there is no justice with Shreyas Iyer,” he added.
Shreyas was India’s highest run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in CT 2025, with 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60, with two fifties and a best score of 79.
He concluded his run in IPL 2025 as the sixth-highest run-getter, after garnering 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, at a strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*.
India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
Team India squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Shreyas Iyer has aggregated 1104 at a strike rate of 136.12 in 47 T20I innings. However he hasn’t played a T20I since December 2023. Before IPL, Iyer had also proven his worth as a captain by leading Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph with another thunderous show with the bat, which saw him score 345 runs from eight innings at an average of 49.28 with one hundred and as many fifties.
However, it seems that the selectors have turned a blind eye to Iyer’s performances, who continues to knock hard on their doors, only to remain unheard. The Mumbai batter has done everything in his control to deserve to don the T20I jersey. From successful leadership tenures to audacious strokeplay at crease, Iyer boasts a strong CV which could’ve easily made him the captain in any other country.
However, BCCI and the team management don’t even consider him worthy enough to be in the team, let alone give him any leadership position. As Iyer remains out of contention for the T20I side, the question remains: what more does he have to do to find a place in a team that is willing to tinker with its settled combination to accommodate some players, while his unprecedented performance continues to be ignored.
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