Despite n-number of qualities, here is Shreyas Iyer, not only missing from the squad but also omitted from the reserves.A Rage Room is a private space where aggrieved individuals can express their frustrations in a liberatingly physical manner. Draped in protective equipment, they are presented with a curated line-up of breakable items – glass bottles, old television sets, ceramics – that they can smash to smithereens to let off steam. Had Shreyas Iyer sought out a Rage Room on Tuesday, he would have been perfectly entitled to do so.
Shreyas Iyer had good cause to believe he’d be back in India’s Twenty20 plans when the national selectors met in Mumbai to pick the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup, in the desert sands of the Emirates next month. With six months to India’s defence of the World Cup grabbed spectacularly in Bridgetown in June last year, the process of fine-tuning preparations for the big bash begins with the continental showdown.
Shreyas Iyer must have felt the volume of work he had put in, especially during IPL 2025, was sufficient for him to return to the T20I scheme of things for the first time since December 2023 (when he played the last of his 51 games), but Ajit Agarkar and his fellow wise men deigned otherwise.
Shreyas Iyer has been the silent guardian and the watchful protector of the Indian ODI team in the past two years. However, India’s own commissioner, Gordon in Ajit Agarkar, feels that he isn’t the hero the T20I team needs right now. Shreyas Iyer’s performances have often gone under the radar as he’s silently done his job under the shadows of the big stalwarts.
A world-record 530 runs batting at number 4 during the ODI World Cup 2023 and a well-compiled 243 runs in the victorious Champions Trophy 2025 campaign – the highest in the team—have all raised Shreyas Iyer’s stocks as a true match-winner.
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 amongsts the fans and experts regarding exclusion of Shreyas Iyer from the Asia Cup 2025 squad Former Indian cricketer now commentator Aakash Chopra believes that Shreyas Iyer will definitely find a place in T20 World Cup 2026 in the Indian XI.
Aakash Chopra firmly believes that Shreyas Iyer will be the part of T20 World Cup 2026
As Team India gears up for the Asia Cup T20 edition, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer “needs to be spoken about” following a hard-hitting Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Punjab Kings (PBKS) as a skipper and ICC Champions Trophy campaign for India, as he was “hitting boundaries whenever he wished” and eased pressure for other batters.
With a fiery top order of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav firing heavily leading up to the tournament and showing some glimpses of their peak during the 2025 IPL, Iyer, along with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal fights for a spot in the top-order for the tournament. India’s campaign will kickstart against hosts UAE on September 10.
Iyer continued to dominate ODI cricket this year, finishing as India’s top run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in their CT 2025 title win, scoring 243 runs in five matches and innings at an average of 48.60 with two half-centuries and a best score of 79.
Later, in IPL 2025, Iyer ended up as the sixth-highest run-getter and had his best season, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*. He played a massive role in taking PBKS to their first IPL final since 2014, but the team fell short by six runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Chopra said that Iyer was needed to be in the Asia Cup squad because of his boundary-hitting, his middle-overs brilliance and how often IPL serves as a parameter to bring players in the side. In a video shared on his Youtube channel, Aakash Chopra, the former Indiaopener noted That Shreyas Iyer couldn’t have done anything more to merit a selection, and reckoned that the Mumbaikar would be picked for the 2026 T20 World Cup if he continues to perform well in ODIs.
“Shreyas Iyer not being there is a big story. What more will Shreyas Iyer have to do? What more can you do than what you have already done? You had a 600-plus run IPL season, took the team to the final, scored runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, played Ranji, and won the Champions Trophy. That’s all you can do as a human being,” Chopra said
“This is the Asia Cup team. Don’t attach the World Cup with it because there are 15 T20Is after this. The world changes in 15 T20Is. If he keeps scoring runs in ODIs, sooner or later, Shreyas Iyer will be part of the team. I have a strong feeling that Shreyas Iyer will be a part of India’s T20 World Cup team,” he added.
However Chopra opined that Shreyas Iyer has been treated slightly unfairly at the moment . While acknowledging that there wasn’t a vacant place at No.3 and No.4 in the XI, he added that the Punjab Kings(PBKS) skipper could have still been accomodated in the squad. In the same video, Aakash Chopra expressed surprise over Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion even from the five reserves picked for the 2025 Asia Cup.
“Shreyas’ name is not even there in the five reserves, and that is surprising. It’s understandable that you couldn’t have him in the 15 as you can’t play him in the XI, and you wanted lower-order batters as backup, where Shivam Dube is there, and Rinku Singh will be given another chance, which is absolutely par for the course,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the 30-year old’s omission from the 20-player list doesn’t send a great signal.
“However, a place could have been created in the reserve players at least, where you have kept Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prasidh Krishna. This player’s name could have been there. You haven’t kept it there either, and that doesn’t send a great signal. The clarity in front of Shreyas’ name is completely not there,” Chopra observed.
Shreays 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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