Head of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar announced India's 18-member squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England on Saturday. Many changes were made to the team as Shubman Gill was appointed as India's new Test skipper while Rishabh Pant was made his deputy.
Shreyas Iyer wasn't included in India's squad for England series
On one hand, Karun Nair made his comeback into the Test set-up after eight years while on the other, notable players like Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami and Sarfaraz Khan were omitted from the squad.
Shreyas, who is a mainstay for India in the ODI set-up and gave exceptional batting performances in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, was not able to find a spot in the Test team despite the recent retirements of batting greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The selectors instead showed trust on batters like Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, who are yet to make their debuts in the longest format.
Following Shreyas' snub from the squad, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag stated that the 30-year-old doesn't get enough credit and can play in all the three formats if he is given the chance.
“Definitely. He doesn't get much credit for his captaincy. Manoj (Tiwary) said that Rishabh Pant didn't get captaincy because his IPL season hasn't been great. But Iyer has had a great season, he is also the captain. Why can't he play in Test cricket? He can definitely play all three formats,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
The batting great believes that India should have definitely given Shreyas a chance in the Test team looking at his recent form. He further stated that the middle-order batter could have put England under pressure with his aggressive approach.
“When you're in good form, it's good to take him to the tour because there are higher chances of him performing. I would want to see him in Test team. If he keeps the same approach in Test cricket, it benefits the team. If you have 2-3 players like that, it sets fear in the opposition. England plays at 6-7 runs/over. If Indian team even manages to play at 4-5 runs/over, they can put them under pressure,” Sehwag added.
Shreyas last played Test cricket for India in February, 2024. After getting dropped from the team following his poor display in the home series against England, he gave brilliant performances with the bat at the domestic circuit and was a key figure in the Mumbai team that won the Ranji Trophy 2023/24. He soon made his comeback into India's ODI team and has now become a mainstay following multiple heroic knocks in the format.