As of now, the Mumbai-based batter has played 14 Test matches, where he has made 811 runs with the highest score of 105.
India’s star batter Shreyas Iyer has been making an impact with the bat across formats over the years. Last year, while leading the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the IPL, he powered them to victory. Talking about the IPL 2025, Iyer guided the Punjab Kings to the finals after 11 long years. He also smashed 604 runs across 17 matches, playing a crucial role in PBKS’ road to the IPL 2025 finals.
A lot of people were hoping that BCCI would include Iyer in India’s squad that will play the five-match Test series against England, but unfortunately, it did not happen. As of now, the Mumbai-based batter has played 14 Test matches, where he has made 811 runs with the highest score of 105. Considering the fact that Iyer has evolved both as a captain and batter, his exclusion is a massive surprise for many.
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta shared his two cents to CricXtasy in an exclusive interview and spoke about why it was difficult for the selectors to give Iyer a place in the Indian Test team.
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“I mean, if you think about it, Shreyas [Iyer], going into the finals third time, three different teams, three different setups, hopefully it says a lot about his leadership skills, but even as a batter, I think he’s reinvented himself as a batter in this format,” Dasgupta pointed out.
“And he was absolutely brilliant leading from the front with the bat as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t get many runs in the finals. But yeah, I mean, it has been a really, really good season for Shreyas as well, and both from a leadership point of view and from a batting point of view.”
“But there are a few things when it comes to Test selection. Let’s just understand. I know one, different formats, and all of that. That’s a fair point. But the other important thing is, you know, we keep talking about why not this player? Can you please tell me who do you put him in place of? Please also give a solution. Just naming someone and stating he should have been there, it doesn’t work like that”, the former wicketkeeper told CricXtasy.
Since the Indian team has already announced an 18-member squad, it’s tough to replace Iyer with somebody else.
“It’s already a 17-member squad. Please name me one guy you would replace him with. Or do you increase squad strength to 18, then 19? Then, where do you stop? Then why is Sarfaraz [Khan] not there? Add him also. So that’s 20, add someone else, why is you know maybe Anshul Kamboj or Mukesh Kumar should have been there, that’s 21, and this list will go on and on. If you want somebody on the side, fair enough, but then, in whose place? We all want to see him. We all want to see a lot of other players also. But at the end of the day, there are only limited spots”, he added.
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