The selectors sprung a major surprise by including Test team captain Shubman Gill in the squad despite him missing the last few T20I matches, chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the decision to leave Iyer out as ‘ no fault of his. Nor is it ours.’ Iyer had scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 in IPL 2025
Abhishek Nayar. File pic
Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar expressed disbelief over Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from the Asia Cup 2025 squad, which was announced on Tuesday at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
The selectors sprung a major surprise by including Test captain Shubman Gill in the squad despite him missing the last few T20I matches, chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the decision to leave Iyer out as ‘no fault of his. Nor is it ours'.
"I can’t fathom or understand what reason could justify Shreyas Iyer not being part of the 20-member squad. I’m not even talking about the final 15, but the 20 itself, which sends a clear message that Shreyas Iyer is not in the selectors’ scheme of things, at least from a T20 perspective,” said Nayar to JioHotstar.
Despite a stellar IPL 2025 campaign, where he amassed 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 and captained Punjab Kings to the final in Ahmedabad, Iyer failed to secure a spot in India’s 15-member Asia Cup squad.
In contrast, Gill earned a recall following an impressive season with Gujarat Titans, guiding them to the playoffs while scoring 650 runs in 15 innings at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 155.87. His T20I credentials further strengthened his case, with 578 runs in 21 matches, averaging 30.42 with a strike rate of 139.27, including one century and three half-centuries. Significantly, Gill remains one of the rare Indian batters to have centuries across all three international formats.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra opined that Gill’s selection could effectively seal the fate of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, suggesting the latter may now be edged out of the playing XI.
"India seems to be moving in the direction of an all-format captain. With Shubman Gill’s return, Sanju Samson’s fate has more or less been sealed; he won’t feature in the playing XI now. You won’t drop Tilak Varma or Hardik Pandya, which means Samson sits out, and Jitesh Sharma will likely get the nod again. One thing is very clear from this selection: the batting slots have been prioritized over personalities. With Gill coming in as vice-captain, he will definitely play and open the batting. This essentially pushes Sanju Samson out of the XI,” said Chopra to JioHotstar.
(With IANS inputs)
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