Ajinkya Rahane Reacts to Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup Omission, Calls for Clear Communication

Since India announced its 15-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in September, some cricket experts and fans have criticized a few surprising choices made by the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar. The biggest talking point is the absence of in-form Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai batter did not even make it into the five reserve players chosen for the tournament.

Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane said that Shreyas must be very disappointed after missing out on the Asia Cup squad, especially after consistently performing well for Mumbai and Punjab Kings in white-ball cricket.

“I’m sure Shreyas Iyer must be very disappointed after the great IPL season he had. He also performed well in domestic 50-over cricket whenever he got a chance. I understand the team management’s decision, as they can only select 15 players and need to maintain team balance,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.

After announcing the squad, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav spoke to the media. When asked about leaving Shreyas Iyer out, Agarkar said it was unfortunate, but the team could only select 15 players, and there was no place for him in this squad.

“It’s really unfortunate about Shreyas. Right now, there’s no one in the squad he can replace. It’s not his fault or ours—only 15 players could be selected, so he will have to wait for his opportunity,” Agarkar said.

Shreyas Iyer will be a part of the T20 format in the future: Rahane

Rahane thinks Shreyas Iyer will return to India’s T20 team soon. He also hopes the selectors have clearly explained their plans to him.

“The main thing I want is for the selectors and team management to clearly communicate with Shreyas. He is an important player, and I’m confident he will play in T20 matches in the future. Good communication with him is very important,” he added.

Shreyas Iyer had an outstanding IPL 2025 season for Punjab Kings, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches with an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07. He also became only the second captain to take Punjab Kings to the IPL final.