Shreyas Iyer’s Absence from Asia Cup 2025 Squad: A Shocking Selection Decision Explained

The selection of India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 has caused a stir, particularly due to the omission of Shreyas Iyer. The tournament is set to begin on September 9th. The selectors have chosen Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya to join captain Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order, which led to Iyer being left out. Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI’s chief selector, addressed the surprise decision. He indicated that the team was selected with the most suitable combination for the tournament in mind. Agarkar stressed that Iyer’s exclusion was not due to any fault of his own, but rather a matter of selecting a squad of fifteen players. Iyer’s last T20I appearance was in December 2023, where he scored a half-century, contributing to India’s win against Australia. His recent performances in the IPL have been noteworthy, leading Kolkata Knight Riders to a win in 2024 and taking Punjab Kings to the final in IPL 2024. He scored 251 runs in 15 matches in 2024 and 604 runs in 17 matches in 2025. Additionally, in the Champions Trophy 2025, Iyer was India’s top run-scorer, accumulating 243 runs in five innings, with an average of 48.60, including two fifties. However, despite these impressive statistics, he was not selected.