'He is very good player, but...': Ex-England spinner's shocking remarks over Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from Shubman Gill-led India's Test squad

Former England spinner Monty Panesar backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to exclude Shreyas Iyer from India's Test squad for the upcoming five-Test match series against England. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Saturday announced India's 18-member squad for the upcoming five-Test match series against England, where Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new Test captain, and wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will feature as his deputy.

There were some notable exclusions from the squad; speedster Mohammed Shami won't be able to make it since he was not fit, and another shocking exclusion was Shreyas Iyer. The middle-order batter is currently in the form of his life. He had a dreamy domestic season, and currently, he is performing brilliantly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

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Former England spinner believes that Iyer is a very good player, but he can be vulnerable because he lacks the technique to bat in seemingly swinging conditions.

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"Well, I believe they haven't missed a trick. I think that he is very good player, but I think the seeming swing conditions, I believe he's vulnerable. I don't think he has the technique for that. And I think that's one of the reasons they felt that technically he would be found out and his numbers are up there, but on conditions, flat spinning pitches, I think he's a superstar. But when it comes to seeming swinging conditions, I just don't think he has a technique. He doesn't play the ball late. He doesn't have the soft hands. He has quick hands. He doesn't move his feet much. He's got brilliant hand-eye coordination. And that sort of technique is suited for bouncy or fast pitches, seeming conditions, swing conditions, I think you'll get found out" Monty Panesar told Inside Sport

The five-Test match series between India and England is scheduled to start from June 20 and this will be India's first Test assignment after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 where Australia defeated India 3-1 on their home soil to seal their berth for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

India's squad vs England

Shubman Gill(C), Rishabh Pant(vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Parishdh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav