Indian batter Shreyas Iyer’s father, Santosh Iyer, has expressed his disappointment after his son was left out of India’s Asia Cup squad. Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a blistering strike rate of 175.07. Ergo, he played an instrumental role in taking PBKS to the final of the tournament, but he was overlooked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.
Furthermore, Iyer had scored 243 runs in five matches of the Champions Trophy 2025 and had played a key role in taking the team to glory.
Santosh said he doesn’t know what Shreyas has to do to get into the T20I team despite performing so consistently.
Santosh said in an interview with TOI, “I don’t know what else Shreyas has to do to make it to the Indian T20 team. He has been performing so well in the IPL year after year, from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders to Punjab Kings, and that too as a captain. He even captained KKR to the IPL title in 2024 and led PBKS to the final this year. I’m not saying make him the Indian captain, but at least select him in the team.”
“However, let me tell you that even if he’s left out of the Indian team, he doesn’t show dissent on his face. He’ll just say: ‘Mera naseeb hai (it’s my luck)! You can’t do anything now.’ He’s always cool and calm. He doesn’t blame anybody. Deep inside, he must be naturally disappointed,” he added.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer’s Mumbai teammate Ajinkya Rahane is hopeful that the selectors have had a discussion with the batter regarding his non-selection.
Rahane said on his YouTube Channel, “I’m sure he (Shreyas Iyer) must be really disappointed considering the kind of IPL he had. It was a fantastic season. Even in domestic cricket, especially in the 50-over format, he has performed really well whenever given opportunities. I can completely understand the team management’s point of view, since they can only pick 15 players and need to see the balance of the team.”
“The only thing I want to see and I want to know is proper communication from selectors and team management with Shreyas. He’s an important member of the team, and I’m sure in the coming years or in the future, he’s going to be part of the T20 format as well. So communication is the key from the selectors to Shreyas Iyer,” Rahane added.
India would begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10.
