Why Shreyas Iyer Did Not Even Get Chance In Asia Cup Reserve List? BCCI Says This - Report
Shreyas Iyer was India's highest run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in Champions Trophy 2025, with 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60
- Shreyas Iyer was excluded from both the 15-man Asia Cup squad and the five-member reserves list
- A report has claimed that Iyer was not picked as reserves because he is too big a player to warm the bench
- "A player like Shreyas can't be named in the reserves! If you pick him, he's in the XI," a BCCI source said
Shreyas Iyer's omission from India's Asia Cup squad was the major talking point. Shreyas Iyer was India's highest run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in Champions Trophy 2025, with 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60, with two fifties and a best score of 79. He concluded his run in IPL 2025 as the sixth-highest run-getter, after garnering 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, at a strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*.
While he did not get a chance in the 15-man main Asia Cup squad, Iyer's name was also missing from the five-member reserves list.Â
Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar was unhappy with the treatment meted out to Shreyas Iyer.
"I don't know, actually, I wanted to ask that question — aapke reserve players mein kaise nahi hai woh, if he is such a strong contender. Sometimes, you know, selection meetings can be quite interesting, and the discussions that happen in them can be very interesting," Nayar said on Star Sports.
"But I can't fathom, and I don't understand, what reason can justify Shreyas Iyer not being part of that 20-member squad. I'm not even talking about the 15, I'm talking about the 20-member squad, which sends a message to Shreyas Iyer that he is not in the team's scheme of things. Because even if things don't work out, he is still not coming into the team. Either Riyan Parag is going to make the cut, or someone else is," he added.
"So, the big question here is that maybe they are not looking at him from a T20 point of view — or perhaps any other point of view. But I always say this that any selection after a while is, 'who you like a little more than the other'. In that regard, maybe Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else. Maybe."
Now, a report has claimed that Iyer was not picked as reserves because he is too big a player to warm the bench.Â
"A seasoned player like Shreyas can't be named in the reserves, please understand this! If you pick him, he plays in the XI. No one has any grudge against Iyer. He will get his chances and play many matches for India in all three formats. It's just that right now, he didn't fit in!" the TOI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
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