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Former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his utter amazement while watching Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer's explosive innings against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad in their IPL 2025 clash on March 25. Vaughan was struck by the fact that despite such a powerful display, Shreyas Iyer isn't even a part of India's T20I team. Iyer's unbeaten 97 off just 42 balls was instrumental in Punjab's 11-run win over GT in their opening match of the IPL 2025 season.
Priyansh Arya, making his debut for PBKS, provided an electrifying start to the innings with a rapid 47 off 23 balls. However, the spotlight soon shifted entirely to Shreyas Iyer at the Narendra Modi Stadium. He unleashed a barrage of five boundaries and nine towering sixes, propelling Punjab to a formidable and ultimately match-winning total of 243 for five.
Michael Vaughan surprised over Shreyas Iyer's absence in India's T20I team
Interestingly, a key talking point of Iyer's innings was his selfless decision to forgo the chance of scoring his maiden T20 century. Having single-handedly spearheaded Punjab's batting for a significant portion of the innings and being just one hit away from the milestone, he instructed his partner, Shashank Singh, to attack every ball of the final over bowled by Mohammed Siraj. Singh responded emphatically, smashing five boundaries in that over, further boosting Punjab's already imposing target.
Vaughan was in awe of Shreyas Iyer's blistering knockc. It was during this reflection that the former England captain was struck by the realisation that despite such evident batting talent and match-winning capabilities, Iyer is currently not even included in India's T20I set up.
"It was brilliant. It really was from the first ball when he punched it down the ground. He makes sixes look very easy, and it's certainly not. And I liked his flicks off the hip to the short ball. But the way he strikes down the ground off the spinners and the one over extra cover, he just gives himself a little bit of space and hits through the line just outside of the off stump. He's a brilliant player. I just keep scratching my head and thinking he's not in the Indian T20I team," Vaughan said, during a conversation with Cricbuzz.
Despite his admiration for Iyer's explosive performance, Vaughan pointed out that Iyer's exclusion from the Indian T20I setup speaks volumes about the intense competition within the national side. He went on to suggest that the rest of the cricketing world needs to quickly elevate their game in preparation for the two major upcoming ICC events, the T20 World Cup in 2026 and the ODI World Cup in 2027.
"It's a real worry for the rest of the world that you know this Indian juggernaut. They've won the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, and the final of the 50-over World Cup. He played brilliantly in the 50-over World Cup. Just had a little bit of an off day in the final. Where is the next T20 World Cup? It's in Sri Lanka. Then, the next 50-over World Cup in South Africa. I've just watched the T20 tournament in South Africa. Lots of spin, lots of slow wickets. So, it will not be any different for the 50-over World Cup. The rest of the world has got to catch up, and I don't know how, I don't know how they're going to do because this Indian juggernaut has a mass of players, and I reckon you've got 30 odd players that you could choose from. Iyer is right up near the top of that," Vaughan concluded.
PBKS will next face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 1 at the Ekana cricket stadium.
