Former BCCI chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has expressed surprise over Shreyas Iyer’s selection as Team India’s vice-captain for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Vengsarkar finds it baffling that how Shreyas, who recently took a break from red-ball cricket, could declare himself fit for the white-ball formats.

Notably, the 30-year-old Iyer wrote to the BCCI last month, seeking permission to recuse himself from red-ball cricket for six months.

The Indian board said Iyer is dealing with back spasms and wants to use the time of domestic red-ball cricket to work on his fitness and progress his recovery.

“To be honest, it’s a dilemma for me, because he [Iyer] says that he is unfit for red-ball cricket, but is fit for the white-ball cricket," Vengsarkar told Mid-day.

“I don’t understand the difference between red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket. I feel that if you are fit for white-ball cricket, you are obviously fit for red-ball cricket too. Choosing red-ball or white-ball and such things are beyond my comprehension," he added.

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee on Saturday (October 4) took a tough call of removing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain

Despite leading India to the Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year, the 38-year-old was not considered for the leadership role when the selectors sit together to pick the ODI squad for the upcoming Australia tour. 

With the ODI World Cup scheduled in two years’ time, the baton was passed over to Shubman Gill, who was also named the Test skipper following Rohit's retirement in May 2025.

“Gill is a very good all-format player. Actually, when you pick a captain, you first pick the team and then you pick the best available guy to lead the side. And I think Gill is the best person to lead the side in ODIs and Test matches because he is also good in T20s," Vengsarkar remarked.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of the modern-day greats, continue to feature in the 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia.

Commenting on the legendary pair, Vengsarkar said: “Rohit and Virat have been great players over the years, but if you are playing just one format of the game, I believe the selectors need to take a call on this. I feel you cannot know or judge the form and fitness of such players because they’ve had a long layoff after the last game they have played. It’s very difficult to assess their form and fitness."

The three ODIs between India and Australia will be played in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney on October 19, 23 and 25 respectively.