The Indian men’s cricket team is gearing up for a high-stakes five-match Test series against England, starting June 20 in Leeds. The series marks India’s first assignment in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Under the leadership of Shubman Gill, the selectors named an 18-member squad last month. But the exclusion that has triggered a storm of debate is that of Shreyas Iyer—a player in prime form.
The 30-year-old Mumbai batter has been prolific in recent months. Representing Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, Iyer featured in all 17 matches and scored 604 runs, consistently anchoring the innings under pressure. Despite this standout performance in the shorter format, he found no place in India’s red-ball plans—a decision that has puzzled fans and experts alike.
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Now, former India captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has weighed in, questioning the logic behind Iyer’s omission. “He’s been outstanding over the past year. Iyer is not the same player he was when dropped. He’s matured, plays short-pitched bowling far better, and scores when the pressure is high. I would have liked to see him given a chance in this England series,” Ganguly told RevSportz.
Shreyas Iyer had made a dream Test debut with a century against New Zealand in Kanpur back in 2021. However, after a dip in red-ball form, he was sidelined following the Visakhapatnam Test last year. Since then, he has fought his way back through white-ball cricket, notably emerging as India’s top run-scorer in the Champions Trophy 2025, which India won with an unblemished record under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
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Sourav Ganguly, reflecting on India’s chances in England, sounded optimistic. “We’ve won in Australia without Kohli and Rohit—young batters stood up then. If Bumrah stays fit and the batting holds up, there’s no reason we can’t win in England too,” he said, recalling his own memorable debut ton at Lord’s in 1996.
