Shreyas Iyer last played in whites in February 2024.
The highly anticipated India squad for the Test tour in England was announced last week, including the new captaincy of Shubman Gill. While most of the 18-member squad was as expected by the think tanks, the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer sparked surprise and debate. While addressing the media, head coach Gautam Gambhir gave a curt reply on the matter.
“I am not a selector,” Gambhir said.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the Mumbai batter’s omission while announcing the squad for the Test tour of England. He acknowledged that Shreyas has been in good form but explained that there were specific factors behind the decision to leave him out of the squad.
“Shreyas had a good one-day series, played well in domestic as well, but right now there is no room (for him) in Test cricket,” Agarkar said during the media interaction.
Instead, Karun Nair has earned a spot in the squad. India’s series will kick off on June 20 in Headingley.
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The 30-year-old last featured in a Test match for India in February 2024, during the home series against England in Visakhapatnam. Since then, he has been in excellent form across formats. He played a key role in the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, emerging as India’s top scorer with 243 runs in five games.
Shreyas carried that momentum from the domestic circuit, delivering a standout Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season for Mumbai. He scored 480 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 68.57, including two centuries.
His purple patch is continued in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He has amassed 514 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 171.90 and an average of 51.40. Beyond his batting, Shreyas has also received widespread praise for his leadership, guiding Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the playoffs this season, after having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title the previous year.
PBKS will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru tonight in Mullanpur for Qualifier 1. The winner of this encounter will earn a berth in the summit clash.
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