Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad isn’t just a selection call; it feels personal. The BCCI dropped a bombshell on August 19, 2025, leaving out a player in red-hot form. Iyer had just smashed 604 runs in IPL 2025 and was India’s top scorer in their victorious Champions Trophy campaign. Yet, he’s not in the 15-man squad or even among the five reserves. Why? The evidence points not to cricketing logic, but to a deep-seated rift with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. A trail of events, from IPL drama to a lost central contract, reveals the story behind why one of India’s most successful players is being systematically sidelined.
The Gambhir-Iyer Clash: IPL Roots
The bad blood appears to have started in IPL 2024. Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third title, a triumph of his leadership and batting. But who received the credit? Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s mentor. Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar repeatedly called out this narrative, stating, “He did not get the credit for the IPL victory last season. All the plaudits were given to someone else. It is the captain, who plays a major role in what is happening in the middle and not someone sitting in the dugout”.
This sentiment reportedly caused friction, with fans and those close to Iyer feeling he was robbed of his due. When Gambhir became India’s head coach in July 2024, whispers grew louder. Was Gambhir against Iyer? Reports suggest he didn’t even want Iyer in the ODI side for the Champions Trophy. It was only a last-minute knee injury to Virat Kohli that forced Iyer into the squad. Iyer seized the opportunity, scoring 243 runs in five matches to become India’s top run-getter. But with Gambhir’s influence now dominant in the T20I setup, Iyer’s fate seems to have been sealed.
Agarkar’s Role: The Fallout from the Past
Ajit Agarkar’s history with Iyer is equally telling and points to a long-held grudge. The first major flashpoint was the BCCI central contract saga in early 2024. Iyer was stripped of his contract for missing a Ranji Trophy quarter-final for Mumbai, a directive Agarkar’s committee enforced strictly. The situation was complicated by conflicting reports; Iyer cited back pain, but the National Cricket Academy (NCA) head of medicine, Nitin Patel, reportedly declared him “fit and available for selection”.
This wasn’t their first run-in. A couple of years prior, when Agarkar was Mumbai’s chief selector, he dropped Iyer from the squad for skipping a Ranji match after returning exhausted from an India A tour. The pattern suggests a history of friction. While Iyer’s contract was reinstated after his Champions Trophy heroics, the Asia Cup snub feels like the old grudge has resurfaced. Agarkar’s excuse—”We can only pick 15″—rings hollow. Iyer’s 604 IPL runs at a strike rate of 175.07 far outshine many selected players, pointing to personal bias, not squad limits.
The Champions Trophy Twist
Iyer’s Champions Trophy performance should have been his ticket to cementing his place across all formats. He was India’s leading run-getter with 243 runs, earning praise from then-captain Rohit Sharma as the team’s “silent hero”. But here’s the kicker: he was almost not there. It was only Kohli’s injury that opened the door for him. He delivered under pressure, proving his worth when it mattered most.
Yet, for the T20I Asia Cup, Gambhir and Agarkar appear aligned in their decision to overlook him. They picked specialists like Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh instead. A comparison of their IPL 2025 numbers makes the decision baffling. Rinku’s season was quiet, with just 206 runs, while Dube’s 357 runs pale in comparison to Iyer’s 604. This selection screams of favoritism over form.
The Cricket Fraternity’s Outrage
The cricket world smells something fishy. Former chief selector Kris Srikkanth called Agarkar’s reasoning a “nonsensical statement”. Robin Uthappa, a former KKR teammate, said the decision “seems strange”. Ravichandran Ashwin asked on his YouTube channel, “What wrong has Shreyas done?”. Perhaps the most damning indictment came from former assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, who hinted at a personal agenda: “Any selection after a while is… who you like a little more than the other. In that regard, maybe Shreyas Iyer is not liked as much as someone else”.
Even Iyer’s father, Santosh, voiced his frustration: “I don’t know what else Shreyas has to do to make it to the Indian T20 team”. The widespread outrage suggests Iyer’s exclusion isn’t just about cricket.
The New T20I Blueprint: A Convenient Excuse?
The official line is that Gambhir’s new T20I vision favors specialists. Dube hits spin. Rinku finishes. Tilak Varma brings left-handed flair. Iyer, a versatile top-order batter, supposedly doesn’t fit this rigid mold. Agarkar claims there’s simply “no room” for him.
But this feels like a flimsy cover story. Iyer’s explosive IPL strike rate of 175.07 matches any specialist. His phenomenal record in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 345 runs at a strike rate of 188.5, further proves his T20 prowess. In 2019, he smashed 147 off just 55 balls in the tournament, the highest T20 score by an Indian, hitting a record 15 sixes. If IPL and domestic T20s are the yardstick, as Gambhir insists, why ignore one of its most dominant performers? The real issue appears to be personal dynamics, not strategy.
Conclusion: A Star Betrayed
Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup snub is not about form or fit. It’s about friction. The clash over credit for KKR’s IPL 2024 win with Gambhir left a mark. The history of disciplinary action from Agarkar over Ranji Trophy participation lingers. Together, they have sidelined a player who led two different franchises to IPL finals in consecutive years and was the hero of India’s Champions Trophy win. This isn’t selection—it’s a vendetta. Iyer has done everything asked of him and more, only to be left out in the cold. Indian cricket deserves better.
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