Former chairman of India’s men’s selection committee MSK Prasad said that pacer Mohammed Siraj should have been picked in India’s 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2025 as well. Prasad also felt that unless Siraj was rested, he had to be added to the squad for the mega tournament that starts on September 7 as well.

Prasad told Cricbuzz: “My issue is not just about Iyer, but Mohammed Siraj too. Unless he has been rested as part of workload management, he should have been in the squad. He was the Player of the Match in the last Asia Cup (50-over) final. When they had the option of taking 17, they could have gone with the full-strength. I would have included two of the three – Iyer, Siraj and Jaiswal. That said, I can also understand why they may have avoided picking 17. Having too many players on the bench puts pressure on the XI.”

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Meanwhile, the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer has found criticism, especially from former cricketers. Former India batter S Badrinath also said that Iyer deserved to be in the squad, adding that he had scores to back his case for a place in the team as well.

“He definitely deserved to get selected. Ajit Agarkar said he was unlucky but that’s just a convenient route. Iyer has produced excellent numbers over the last two years and done brilliantly as a captain as well,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel as well.