Despite a dream run of form in the latest matches, the batter could not secure a place in India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025.
Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers is the latest prominent figure to raise his doubts over the exclusion of the star Indian batter Shreyas Iyer from the national squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Since the release of the 20-member squad for the upcoming multi-national T20 tournament, the cricket fraternity has been vocal about the star player’s snub, especially after a stellar outing in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
“I was thinking where Shreyas Iyer can fit in. I have seen fans being upset about his exclusion and Shreyas will be the most upset because he’s played some really good cricket over the last few years. He has matured a lot and has shown a lot of leadership qualities,” said the former player on his YouTube channel.
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The former player recalled his captaincy days to describe how a team also emphasises a player’s off-field qualities while selecting a squad. Considering Shreyas’ snub even after the exceptional season that he has had, concerned de Villiers about his role in the team outside of the playing action.
“I would always lean towards the guy that offers more from a team perspective off the field. 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 dragging energy from the squad?” questioned de Villiers.
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The former Proteas batter also mentioned that this is completely an assumption as the move of the selection panel has also surprised him, like every other former player and fans. However, while acknowledging his extraordinary captaincy skills, de Villiers also hoped for the actual reason behind the star batter’s exclusion to come out as early as possible.
“I am just taking a complete guess because it is weird that a quality player like him not making the starting squad for Team India, especially with the leadership qualities he is bringing. Maybe there are too many leaders and too many captains. Maybe the truth will come out one day and we’ll know why Shreyas is struggling to get into Team India,” he added.
After a stunning domestic season, which included the latest Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Irani Cup titles, the batter also led the two-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), to their third championship victory in IPL 2024. Shreyas also finished as the second-highest run-scorer of India in their ICC Champions Trophy-winning campaign earlier this year.
Following these exceptional stats, the 30-year-old also put up a stellar performance for his new franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS), who had roped him in for a mammoth INR 26.75 crores in the IPL 2025 auction. Shreyas scored 604 runs in 17 matches at a blistering strike rate of 175.07 and became just the second captain in the league’s 17-year-long history to guide the team to the IPL Final.
However, despite this dream run of form, the batter could not secure a place in defending champions India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Notably, the tournament will kick off on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Tungabhadra Warriors won by 5 wickets