Asia Cup: What makes Shreyas Iyer lose out on big breaks repeatedly?

The shocking omission of Shreyas Iyer from the 15-member Asia Cup squad on 19 August, Tuesday, has sent strong ripples across the Indian cricket fraternity — with a few influential figures not holding back on the criticism. In an ecosystem where it’s the norm to be politically correct, there are suggestions that there could be personal likes and dislikes coming into play.

Abhishek Nayar, a self-effacing character who had been sacked as India’s assistant coach after being appointed for less than a year, had worked with Iyer closely enough during the latter’s stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders. ‘’The big question here is that maybe they are not looking at him from a T20 point of view — or perhaps any other point of view. But I always say this that any selection after a while is [about] who you like a little more than the other. In that regard, maybe Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else. Maybe,” Nayar told Star Sports on 19 August, Tuesday.

While the ignoring of Iyer for the Test series against England raised enough hackles against head coach Gautam Gambhir, ignoring his white ball credentials seems to have been the last straw. Iyer was, after all, not only India’s top performer in the Champions Trophy triumph, but also did exceptionally well in the IPL 2025.

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He led the Punjab Kings from the front, taking them to the final, and scored 604 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 175.07. He was the sixth-highest scorer in the IPL 2025.

Yet even mining such a rich vein of talent and staying in form could not fetch him a place among the five stand-bys.

“I don’t know, actually... I wanted to ask that question: Aapke reserve players mein kaise nahi hai woh [how is he not among your reserve players], if he is such a strong contender? Sometimes, you know, selection meetings can be quite interesting, and the discussions that happen in them can be very interesting,” Nayar said.

“But I can’t fathom, and I don’t understand what reason can justify Shreyas Iyer not being part of that 20-member squad. I’m not even talking about the 15, I’m talking about the 20-member squad — which sends a message to Shreyas Iyer that he is not in the team’s scheme of things. Because even if things don’t work out, he is still not coming into the team. Either Riyan Parag is going to make the cut, or someone else is,” he added.

Sad and unfair: Ashwin

Meanwhile, former India off-spinner Ravi Ashwin termed the axing of both Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal “sad” and “unfair” while questioning the selectors’ logic. “Selection is a thankless job. You have to let someone out. When you talk to them, you have to go through that sadness and disappointment in their faces. I hope someone has talked to Shreyas and Jaiswal,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat.

“When you have Jaiswal as your third opener, you have brought Shubman Gill in the team by removing a person from the World Cup winning squad. I mean I am happy for Shubman, but I am very, very sad for both Shreyas and Jaiswal. It’s just not fair on both,” said the plain-speaking Ashwin.