'He will have to wait for his chance' - Ajit Agarkar on Shreyas Iyer's snub from Asia Cup 2025 squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, with Suryakumar Yadav set to lead and Shubman Gill to be his deputy. Notably, the omission of Shreyas Iyer became one of the most talked-about points from the squad announcement. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media along with Suryakumar and explained why the in-form batter was left out despite a strong IPL 2025 season.

Iyer’s exclusion was surprising given his recent form. The right-hander scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 in IPL 2025, leading Punjab Kings to the final and proving his ability to dominate in the shortest format of the game. However, Agarkar made it clear that Iyer’s absence was not due to poor form.

"Again no fault of his. Got to tell me who he can replace? At the moment, will have to wait for his chance," Agarkar said at the press conference.

The chief selector stressed that the competition for the spot is extremely high, especially in the middle order, where India already has Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma.

Agarkar also spoke about the challenges of finalizing a balanced squad of just 15 players. He admitted that it was a tough call but mentioned that Abhishek Sharma’s all-around value gave him the upper hand. 

"It's unfortunate. With what Abhishek has done over the last year or so, plus he give us a bowling option is required. One of these guys was always going to miss out," he added.

We felt we needed an extra batter in Rinku: Ajit Agarkar

For Washington Sundar, who also missed out on the main squad but is part of the reserves, Agarkar clarified that the selectors preferred an extra batter in Rinku Singh. 

"He's always be in the scheme of things. At the moment, we have two mystery spinners/wristspinners in Varun and Kuldeep, and Axar has been around for a while. When we need four spinners - he may always be in the mix. For now, we felt we needed an extra batter in Rinku. And you could only pick 15. If there were 16, maybe he could've been in," the former pacer concluded.

India, eight-time Asia Cup champions, will begin their campaign against UAE on September 10 before facing Pakistan in a marquee clash at the Dubai International Stadium on September 14.

India’s 15-member Asia Cup squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

Reserves:

Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal