Asia Cup 2025: “Gambhir is not backing him”- Sadagoppan Ramesh on Shreyas Iyer’s omission from India’s squad

Shreyas Iyer was left out of India's squad despite 604 runs in IPL 2025.

Multiple reactions from former India cricketers have surfaced since the Team India squad was announced for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament on August 19. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar had named the 15-man squad for the tournament that begins on September 9 in the UAE.

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir is being targeted after Shreyas Iyer was not picked in the Asia Cup 2025 squad, and former India opener S. Ramesh is the latest one to share his thoughts on the same.

Ramesh claimed that Gambhir hinted at partiality in the selection process by not supporting Iyer's inclusion.

Iyer was overlooked for the Asia Cup, despite having a stellar season in which he scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in the IPL 2025 and scoring 300 plus runs at a strike rate of 188 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.

Ramesh also claimed that India’s recent 2-2 draw in the England Test series is falsely being hailed as a huge achievement, while in reality India used to consistently win overseas when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were at the helm.

"He backs the players he likes but completely lets go of those he doesn’t. Winning consistently abroad had started long back under Kohli and Shastri. But now, just the drawn series in England is being projected as a big achievement in Gambhir's track record,” Ramesh said on his YouTube channel.

He stated that the ICC Champions Trophy win is the only achievement for Gautam Gambhir as India coach, while they have struggled in Test cricket.

He also stated that Shreyas Iyer had a huge role to play in India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 win, where he scored 243 runs, the most and second most, behind Rachin Ravindra’s haul of 263 runs.

"Gambhir's biggest achievement remains the Champions Trophy triumph, and Iyer was the biggest reason for that success. Yet, Gambhir is not backing him. Someone like Jaiswal, who is an X-factor player, must play all formats. Keeping him in standby is a poor move," Ramesh added.

"Shreyas Iyer produced incredible performances in the UAE during the Champions Trophy and should be a permanent fixture in India’s white-ball teams. Players must be backed when they are high on confidence and in form, not when they fade away. This is the ideal time to reap the rewards of Iyer's sky-high confidence,” he added.