'Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else is': Ex-India coach's blunt take on Asia Cup snub

Ex-India coach's blunt take on Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup snub (AP Photo)

Abhishek Nayar, the former assistant coach of India, posed the crucial query to chief selector Ajit Agarkar over Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the Asia Cup squad as the star batter was not even considered for the reserves. Iyer's snub has put the selection committee under pressure, particularly in light of his outstanding IPL 2025 performances. Despite piling huge scores and guiding Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the final, his strong case for selection was ignored by the selectors.

Since his last T20I match, in which he struck a half-century against Australia in December 2023, the 30-year-old has been absent from the scheme of things in the shorter format. He also missed the 2024 World Cup. In this period, he helped PBKS reach their first IPL final since 2014 and led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL glory.

Iyer hasn't done anything wrong, according to Agarkar, but he must wait for his opportunity to return to the T20I setup.

"I wanted to ask the question, agar Shreyas Iyer itna hi accha hai toh reserve mei kyu nahi hai? (How come he’s not among your reserve players if he is such a strong contender?) Sometimes, selection meetings can be quite interesting and the discussion that happens in a selection meeting can be very interesting," Nayar said on Star Sports.

Iyer had his best season to date in the previous edition of IPL, where he finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer. With a strike-rate of 175.07 and an average of 50.33, the Punjab Kings captain amassed 604 runs in 17 matches, which include six half-centuries.

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Iyer's exclusion shocked Nayar upto such an extent that he insisted there was no justification behind his snub. He went on to claim that the selection committee's choice suggest that players like Riyan Parag are being given preference over Iyer.

"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 going for 15, I’m going for that 20-member squad, which sort of tells and sends the message to Shreyas Iyer that you are not in a 20-man scheme of things, because even if things don’t work out, you are not coming in the team. Either Riyan Parag is going to make the cut, or someone else is," he added.

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Iyer helped India win the Champions Trophy after making a comeback to the ODI setup during the England series earlier this year. With 243 runs at an average of 48.60 across five innings, including two half-centuries, he stood out as India's top run-scorer. He is still excluded from the Test and T20I plans, though.

Nayar didn't hold back from asserting outright that the decision-makers don't like Iyer as much as they like someone else. “So the big question here is that maybe they are not looking at him from a T20 point of view or any other point of view. But I always say this that any selection after a while, all players are top players, everyone is good then it’s about who you like a little more than the other and that sometimes is the tipping point in a selection. And somewhere I just feel in that regard maybe Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else is, maybe," he concluded.