Leading up to the announcement of India's 15-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, many believed that Shreyas Iyer was a guaranteed selection. His inclusion seemed like a certainty to fans and pundits alike, making his eventual omission from the final list a big surprise. Despite a phenomenal season, Shreyas Iyer was not included in India's Asia Cup squad. The 30-year-old right-handed batter had an impressive showing in IPL 2025 with Punjab Kings, scoring over 600 runs. His excellent form in white-ball cricket led many fans to believe he would be a certain selection for the tournament, but the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, chose to leave him out, even from the list of reserves.
Who knows what is going on behind closed doors? AB de Villiers on Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup snub
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers commented on the surprising omission, stating that there is no cricketing reason for Iyer's exclusion. He suggested that something may be happening "behind the scenes" that is preventing the batter from securing a spot on the team.
Iyer’s recent form has been outstanding. He not only led Mumbai to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but also captained the Punjab Kings to their first IPL final in 11 years. Furthermore, he was a crucial part of India's Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year. Following that victory, captain Rohit Sharma specifically praised Iyer, highlighting his instrumental role in repeatedly rescuing the team.
“It is tough, guys. I was just going through the squad. I was thinking, where can we fit Shreyas in, because I've seen all the headlines and some fans being upset. I think Shreyas will be the most upset because he's played some really good cricket over the last few years. He's matured a lot. He showed a lot of leadership qualities, but who knows what is going on behind closed doors? No one. Not me. Not you guys,” de Villiers said during a live chat on X (formerly Twitter).
“Maybe not even Shreyas knows. But there might be a few things that have taken place over the years that have determined why it's not the flavour of the month for a certain tournament. He's a quality player. He'll be in my team more often than not. But sometimes, and I'm not talking about Shreyas now, but sometimes thinking about when I was captaining, if there's a 50-50 call between two players, I would always lean towards the guy that I feel offers more from a team perspective off the field,” he added.
Iyer's last T20I appearance for India was in December 2023 against Australia, and he has since fallen out of favor with the selectors. He was even removed from the central contracts list after he didn't play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, though he was later reinstated. Despite his strong performance in the IPL, Iyer continues to be sidelined from both the Test and T20I squads. According to AB de Villiers, the full story behind Iyer's exclusion will eventually be revealed.
“When it's 50-50 on the field, you have to start looking at other areas, like does he add value in the team room? Does he have a smile on his face? Does he uplift some of the other players around him? Or is he sort of draining energy from the squad? Maybe it's got something to do with that. I'm just honestly taking a complete guess. Of course, it is weird to me, a quality player like that, not making the starting squad for Team India, especially with the leadership qualities he's bringing. Maybe it will be too much of a clash with him there,” De Villiers further stated.
The South African legend speculated whether the inclusion of Iyer in the squad could cause friction within the dressing room. He raised the question of whether Iyer's strong leadership skills and recent success as a captain might lead to internal conflicts, suggesting this could be a reason for his exclusion.
“Maybe there are too many leaders there, too many captains. I have no idea, to be honest. I was just trying to explain to you what I would think. If there's a 50-50 call, you would always lean towards the guy that you feel will bring the best out in other players. So, a team player kind of call. That's my best guess. I'm not saying it's true. Make up your own mind. Actually, ask more questions about it and let me know what you think. Maybe the truth will come out one day, and we'll know exactly why Shreyas is struggling to get into Team India, starting line-ups or squads at least,” he concluded.
India's Asia Cup squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal