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Shreyas Iyer’s omission from the Asia Cup squad raises quite a number of questions. By all cricketing logic, after such a superlative IPL season and his consistent run in ODIs, Iyer should have been an automatic choice in India’s middle order. Yet, the fact that his name has been kept out points towards a deeper issue.
It seems both chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir are not entirely on the same page with Iyer. Sources suggest that the management views him as someone who is his own man, unwilling to fit into a pre-decided mould, and that might not sit well with the current leadership’s vision for the squad.
For Gambhir, known for valuing loyalty, adaptability and team-first mentality, Iyer’s independent approach may be perceived as resistance. Agarkar, who is known for shifting loyalty, on the other hand, appears to be aligning closely with the coach in building a squad around a yes-man culture,.That shift in philosophy could explain why Iyer — despite his proven batting pedigree — has been sidelined.
The decision also highlights a growing disconnect between performance and selection in Indian cricket. While numbers favour Iyer, the team management is clearly prioritising flexibility, bowling depth and dressing-room dynamics over just batting solidity.
The exclusion of Iyer from the Asia Cup squad is not an isolated incident — it is part of a larger pattern. Gambhir never had Iyer on his list of preferences for the Champions Trophy squad either. At that time, it was only Ajit Agarkar who stepped in and pushed Iyer’s case, ensuring he found a place.
This time, however, the selectors appear to have been caught in a tug-of-war between two choices — Gill and Iyer. Eventually, they sided with Gill, a cricketer widely seen as more compliant and aligned with the team management’s vision, unlike Iyer.
Asia Cup team: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Stand-bys: Prasidh, Washington, Parag, Jurel, Jaiswal
This was one of the toughest years for the selectors. Iyer is probably a match winner for the ODIs but for T20s he is yet to prove that he is a better selection than others.
Unfortunate though from a cricketing perspective…don’t know where he fits in. T20 requires flexibility and his inability to bat outside Top 4 is a concern. Also he has barely played T20is in the last 4 years.
Sports , Leadership , Life , Personalities , Egos .Indian Cricket sadly inspite of so many pluses does have its share a mix of all factors when it comes to player selections and all the factors surrounded with it
Must have been quite a dilemma! Hope their decision is justified!
Struggling with back injury perhaps
Unfortunate as Iyer has been quite a consistent performer..