Shreyas Iyer Faces Deja Vu as Asia Cup Snub Leaves India Star Out in Cold Again

The non-selection of Shreyas Iyer to the Asia Cup 2025 side has come under intensified criticism on the All India Selection Committee. The suave hitter, despite his sublime billing in ODIs and the IPL 2025 did not earn a position in the main team or even the backups to the multi-nation event to be played in the UAE. By not including him, the team management has conveyed the message to him clearly that he does not figure in his plans as far as the next year T20 World Cup is concerned with other talents like Riyan Parag preferred over him in the surviving list.

Iyer had T20I debut in 2017 but could not cement his place in the set-up as even though he did not get regular backing of the management. It took few years before he was recalled after playing a few series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka that same year. Despite increasingly appearing in the T20 line up between 2019 and 2021 he was ultimately not part of the 15 man squad that went to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. The same case happened in the next two world cup cycles, where he was also not included in the teams in the two editions; 2022 and 2024.

No sooner, it feels it has come round again as he has been not included in the Asia Cup team, which will provide the warm up to Suryakumar Yadav and Co. to prepare the showpiece ICC event next year. The chief selector Ajit Agarkar stood by Shreyas Iyer and stated that he has not done anything wrong and he must wait his turn, a statement that almost or virtually left the hopes of playing the next 20-over World Cup bleak.

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A look at Shreyas Iyer's numbers in T20Is

• Matches: 51
• Innings: 47
• Runs: 1,104
• Average: 30.67
• Strike Rate: 136.13
• High Score: 90
• 50s: 8

It was his last T20I appearance, in 2023 against Australia in Bengaluru when he recorded his fifty. But, much has been different in his career to date; he does not find place in the list of annual BCCI central contracts released ahead of 2023-24. He was dropped following failure to show up in a Ranji Trophy match scheduled to take place even though he had previously been declared fit by the NCA. He claimed, however, to have some problems with his back, something that was not appreciated by the BCCI, and it resulted in him and Ishan Kishan missing the 2022 season as retainers.

He had to slog in the domestic circuit to come to the attention of the selectors but when his own KKR team won the IPL 2024 tittle, he could not make it to the World Cup playing 1 in 2025.

The 30 year old kept on grinding at the domestic circuit notching up 325 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy including two centuries. He has also been honing his T20 match, and had a superb Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 345 runs with a strike rate of 188.52.

It was all worth the effort and he was re-called to the ODI team in the England series and the Champions Trophy where he was India!s standout batter. He developed the batting style and succeeded in eliminating the weaknesses to the short ball that he initially faced. The 30-year-old has been India top run-getter in the mega ICC tournament scoring 243 runs in five innings at an average of 48.60 besides two half-centuries.

Having successfully recovered in his ODI career, he also boosted his confidence in the T20, as well, with a sensational IPL 2025 with his new franchise, Punjab Kings.

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Shreyas Iyer's IPL 2025 performance

• Matches Played: 17
• Total Runs: 604
• Average: 50.33
• Strike Rate: 175.07
• Half-Centuries: 6

He steered the Punjab Kings to their maiden IPL final in a record six years, having previously done it with the franchise in 2014, and also wrote his name on this list as the sole captain to lead three different franchises into the summit game of the tournament.

However, despite his heroics he had failed to secure a place in the Asia Cup team as the head coach of the team Gautam Gambhir along with Suryakumar Yadav as skipper chose to trust other players who had utilised their chances. The youngster who shares the same middle-order position as Shreyas, Tilak Varma has positioned himself in the T20I side of India since the 2024 World Cup. Such an endearing flow of form has even seen him rise to No. 2 in the current ICC World rankings of T20 batters. The southpaw has scored 413 runs rising up to a swift pace of 170.66 since playing that tournament in nine matches that included 2 centuries to underline his match-winning capability. The sole contender to this position in his corresponding field is his captain, Suryakumar, who has been India in the last several years the most noticeable player in the shortest form, racking the glories of 2,598 runs, giving an incredible 167.07 strike rate.

Notwithstanding, he also omits Iyer, which draws eyebrows, given that his current T20 performances are very convincing reasons why he should be taken along. Even just on scores he had been far above a calling in a 20-member team, even as a reserve.

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