Controversy Surrounds Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup 2025 Omission: Agarkar’s Explanation

The announcement of India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025, commencing on September 9th, has raised eyebrows due to the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer. The selection committee opted for Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya in the middle order, along with captain Suryakumar Yadav. This left no room for Iyer, despite his strong performance in recent seasons, including IPL 2025. Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI’s chief selector, provided insight into the selection process, explaining that the team was chosen based on the optimal combination for the tournament. Agarkar clarified that Iyer’s exclusion was not a reflection of his performance, but a strategic decision. Iyer last played a T20I in December 2023, where he scored a half-century and helped India win against Australia. During the IPL, he demonstrated his leadership and batting prowess, guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in 2024 and leading Punjab Kings to the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024. He scored 251 runs in 15 matches in 2024 and 604 runs in 17 matches in 2025. Moreover, Iyer was the highest run-scorer for India in the Champions Trophy 2025, with 243 runs across five innings, averaging 48.60, with two half-centuries. Despite these impressive stats, he was not selected for the Asia Cup squad.