The non-selection of Shreyas Iyer for India’s upcoming Test tour of England has disappointed many in the Indian cricket fraternity, who believed that the Mumbai batter had earned a spot in the Test team after a hot run of form across formats in recent months. Despite his importance to India’s triumphant ICC Champions Trophy campaign and excellent form across domestic, First-class and IPL cricket, Iyer continues to be on the outside of India’s plans in Test cricket
Another individual who voiced his disappointment regarding this situation was former international Mohammed Kaif, who pointed out the double standard of the IPL being used as a basis for certain selections in the Test team, but not being a consideration for Iyer despite his own strong IPL season. Kaif highlighted the pick of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan.
“Sai Sudharsan is a brilliant player, no doubt. But he was picked in the Test squad after a good IPL season (679 runs and counting),” said Kaif on his YouTube channel.
“Iyer, meanwhile, has been doing well for so long. He scored some 550 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup and in the Champions Trophy as well. He is still doing a terrific job with the bat for Punjab Kings – 514 runs and counting. He is captaining too. So on one hand, you are considering white-ball criteria for one player and not for the other,” said Kaif regarding the selection.
Iyer’s leadership potential also overlooked
Iyer was one of the players who was in-demand amongst fans and pundits to be on the tour of England despite his struggles against the red ball in SENA conditions, particularly due to his improvements in technique against the short ball, as well as the experience and the leadership quality he could bring to the table. In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both recently retired from Test cricket, this was seen as a must-have.
Nevertheless, despite his average of 68.57 in this prior season’s Ranji Trophy campaign as well as his streak of run-scoring in white ball for India and Punjab Kings, Iyer missed out on Gautam Gambhir’s team yet again.
This follows after he was removed from the BCCI’s central contract list in 2024, and although he was reinstated this year, his absence has caused a response from many within Indian cricket.
