"Big surprise"- Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad leaves Ex-India captain in doldrums

Shreyas Iyer was left out of Asia Cup squad despite his excellent numbers in IPL 2025.

Former India cricketer and captain Mohammed Azharuddin has expressed his reaction to ace batter Shreyas Iyer being snubbed from the Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 tournament. The continental eight-team tournament will begin in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 9, with the final to be played on September 28.

Iyer did not make the squad for the continental event, even though he had a great Indian Premier League (IPL) season and had played well at home. Iyer led the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to IPL 2025 final after scoring 604 runs in 17 games. He achieved a maximum score of 97* and a strike rate of 175.07. The tournament was where he hit six fifties.

Shubman Gill, on the other hand, returned to T20I setup after missing over a year of play and was appointed the team’s vice-captain.

Speaking on the selection, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, “With regards to Shreyas, you’ll have to tell who he can replace. It is again no fault of his, nor is it ours. It’s just that at the moment, you can just pick 15. He’s got to wait for his chance.”

Shreyas Iyer has over 1100 runs in 51 T20I games for India, with five fifties to his name. However, his last T20I game for India came in 2023 against Australia.

“Big Surprise”—Mohammed Azharuddin on Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion

Shortly after the Indian squad was revealed on Tuesday, former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin posted on social media to express surprise at Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from India’s 15-man squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, calling it a “big surprise.”

“Shreyas Iyer was left out of the squad. Big surprise,” Azharuddin wrote on X (formerly Twitter), echoing the sentiments of several others in the cricketing fraternity who were puzzled by the decision.

Not only Azharuddin, but also former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stated that Iyer’s exclusion was a sad decision, and he also questioned the logic behind leaving out young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.

“Selection is a thankless job. You have to let someone out. But I hope someone has talked to Shreyas and Jaiswal. I am very, very sad for both. It’s just not fair.

“He overcame the short ball problem. He was hitting the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Jasprit Bumrah with ease in the IPL. He did brilliantly well for KKR, made them win, and then took Punjab to the finals for the first time since 2014. So, what has he done wrong?” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

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