Sourav Ganguly opens up on Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from India's squad against England

Sourav Ganguly opened up about India’s squad for the series against England, which is without the presence of former skippers such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Ganguly, who served as BCCI President during their captaincies, emphasised the need to have Shreyas Iyer back in the Test setup, given his performances over the past year.

The former BCCI President described Iyer as a fantastic player since 2024. Ganguly stated that Iyer has not been left out unfairly and is scoring runs under pressure by taking responsibility. More importantly, the former Indian skipper highlighted Iyer’s improvement in technique against short balls. While acknowledging that Test cricket is different, Ganguly felt it was necessary to include Iyer in the side to see what he could contribute.

“He has been playing at his best since last year and should have been in this team. The last year has been fantastic for him. He isn’t the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, and playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket is different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do,” said Ganguly in an interview with RevSportz.

Iyer’s comeback since 2024

Shreyas Iyer has enjoyed a great 12 months. After being excluded from the BCCI Central Contracts for the 2024–25 season, he captained the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in IPL 2024. Additionally, he led Mumbai to wins in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Ranji Trophy, and Irani Trophy during the 2024/25 season.

At the Champions Trophy 2025, Iyer played a key role in India’s title-winning campaign from the middle order. He was bought by Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crores, the second-highest amount ever paid for a player in IPL history. He then led PBKS to their maiden final since 2014 and had his best season as a batter, scoring over 600 runs at a strike rate exceeding 170.