Asia Cup 2025: Shreyas Iyer Left Out of India Squad, Former Cricketer Voices Worry

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, and one of the biggest talking points has been the absence of Shreyas Iyer. Suryakumar Yadav has been named captain for the tournament, while Iyer, despite his consistent performances across formats, did not make the cut. This decision has sparked debate, with former cricketer Aakash Chopra openly questioning the selection committee’s reasoning. Chopra, while analyzing the squad, made it clear that Iyer has done more than enough to deserve a place in the team. However, he also added that Iyer’s omission from the Asia Cup squad does not mean the end of the road for him. According to Chopra, Iyer will likely be part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

The Asia Cup 2025 will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28, and India’s squad was officially revealed on August 19. Alongside Suryakumar Yadav, the team includes a mix of experienced stars and exciting young talents. But despite the strong lineup, many fans and experts were left shocked to see Shreyas Iyer’s name missing. For Chopra, this was a puzzling decision because, in his view, Iyer has done everything possible in the last year to prove his value. He highlighted that Iyer scored more than 600 runs in the IPL, captained his side to the final, delivered consistently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, contributed in the Ranji Trophy, and even lifted the Champions Trophy. According to Chopra, a player cannot do more than this to demand a place in the national side.

Chopra emphasized that the Asia Cup squad should not be directly linked to India’s T20 World Cup squad for next year. He pointed out that India will play around 15 T20 internationals before the 2026 World Cup, which means there is still enough time for changes. If Iyer continues scoring runs in ODIs and maintains his form in domestic cricket, it will be hard for the selectors to ignore him for long. “I strongly believe Shreyas Iyer will be part of India’s T20 World Cup squad,” Chopra said, reassuring fans who were concerned about Iyer’s exclusion.

What made the situation even more surprising, however, was that Shreyas Iyer was not even included in the five reserve players for the Asia Cup. Chopra found this even harder to digest, stating that leaving Iyer out of the extended 20-member squad sent a negative message. He argued that the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, could have easily kept Iyer among the reserve players. After all, his performances in recent tournaments had been more than enough to justify at least a backup role.

According to Chopra, the main squad’s composition is understandable to some extent. The selectors preferred lower-order batting options like Shivam Dube and rewarded Rinku Singh with another opportunity, while also ensuring balance with all-round options. That part made sense, as Iyer’s role as a specialist top-order batter did not quite fit into the planned playing XI for this tournament. But what disappointed Chopra was the complete exclusion of Iyer’s name even from the reserve list, which included players like Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Prasidh Krishna.

Chopra concluded by stressing that there is a lack of clarity regarding Iyer’s future. He believes that communication from the selectors would have helped ease concerns, both for the player and for fans. The message right now, however, appears negative, as Iyer’s exclusion gives the impression that he is far away from the selectors’ plans. For a player who has proven himself time and again, Chopra feels this is unfair. Still, he remains hopeful that Shreyas Iyer’s story is far from over and that his consistent performances will bring him back into the spotlight when India prepares for the much bigger challenge of the 2026 T20 World Cup.