The Asia Cup 2025 will be starting from September 9 and the BCCI’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar finally revealed India’s squad for the tournament. But one of the most shocking exclusion was of Shreyas Iyer despite being a top performer in IPL 2025. The selection committee decided to go ahead with Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya with skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order, this meant that there was no place left for Iyer.
Ajit Agarkar Gives Explanation Behind Shreyas Iyer’s Omission
Iyer played his last T20I match in December 2023 where he performed brilliantly – scoring a half-century, leading India towards win against Australia. India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained the reason behind Iyer’s exclusion. He stated that no one was at fault, a combination was picked that was best suited for the tournament.
“With regards to Shreyas, I mean, you need to tell him who he can replace. No fault of his, nor is it ours. It’s just that we have to pick 15 at the moment, he’ll have to wait for his chance,” Agarkar said in the press conference.
Iyer’s Exceptional IPL Stint
Shreyas Iyer has displayed exceptional form in the last two years, in 2024 he led Kolkata Knight Riders towards a win in the Indian Premier League and in IPL 2024, Iyer took Punjab Kings in final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In 2024 Iyer scored 251 runs in 15 matches and in 2025 he scored 604 runs in 17 matches. In both the years he was a game-changer for his team and led it from the front.
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Highest Run-Scorer In Champions Trophy 2025
Even in the Champions Trophy 2025, Shreyas Iyer was the highest run-getter for India as he scored 243 runs in five innings with an average of 48.60, this included two fifties. Despite all these stellar performances, the selectors chose to keep Iyer out of the squad.
