Shreyas Iyer was not picked in India's Asia Cup squad despite a brilliant IPL 2025.
Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal had been in the top 10 of the most runs in IPL 2025, with Iyer scoring 604 runs and Jaiswal making 559 runs. Iyer even took his team, the Punjab Kings, into the final of the tournament, losing to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
“There’s always a lot of talk around players like Shreyas Iyer not being picked, but the real question is—kiski jagah daalte? Either you ask the ICC to allow a 20-member squad instead of 15, because India has so much talent. It’s very difficult to make people understand. Yes, you might be a fan of an individual, but the most thankless job in cricket is that of a selector,” Ishant Sharma said on the Raj Shamani podcast.
He explained that selection is a balancing act where every choice has consequences. Ishant also drew parallels with other players who missed out despite strong performances.
“If they pick one player, he’s good in the eyes of fans, but the one who isn’t picked suddenly makes the selectors look bad. I’m not saying anything against Shreyas—he’s a class player, no doubt—but it’s a question of balance.
Take Rishabh Pant in T20s—who can replace him? Or KL Rahul, who had a strong IPL but didn’t make the T20 squad. If Rahul was picked, maybe Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, or someone else wouldn’t have been. That’s the reality. Jo nahi hote na, unki hi sabse zyada baat hoti hai. (The ones not selected will always be talked about more than the ones who are),” Ishant said.