Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from India’s 15-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup has sparked intense debate among fans and cricket experts. The 30-year-old middle-order batter from Mumbai delivered a stellar IPL 2025 season with Punjab Kings, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches at a blazing strike rate of 175.07. Despite this impressive performance, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee overlooked him for the continental event starting September 9 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The decision also left out Yashasvi Jaiswal, adding to the surprise factor. Several former cricketers, including Ravichandran Ashwin and Abhishek Nayar, expressed disappointment at Iyer’s omission. Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali joined the chorus, stating that players like Iyer, Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami would easily be classified in Pakistan’s “A” category if they played there.
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Speaking on Kamran Akmal’s YouTube show Game Time, Basit Ali remarked, “Iyer ke saath jyadati ho gayi hai. Unko team mey hona chahiye” (It was unfortunate that Iyer was not picked).
Iyer last represented India in T20Is on December 3, 2023, against Australia in Bengaluru, where he struck a solid 53 off 37 balls batting at No. 3. His consistency in the IPL was seen as a strong audition for the Asia Cup, making his exclusion even more puzzling.
Meanwhile, the selectors have handed Shubman Gill the role of vice-captain under skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Gill, who last played a T20I in July 2024 against Sri Lanka, was preferred over Jaiswal despite the youngster’s superior T20I numbers.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal has amassed 723 runs in 23 T20Is with a better average, strike rate, and boundary count compared to Gill. Even in IPL 2025, Jaiswal impressed for Rajasthan Royals with 559 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 159.71. Yet, both he and Iyer find themselves on the sidelines, raising questions about India’s selection strategy ahead of the Asia Cup.
