Shreyas Iyer Reportedly Declines West Zone Captaincy Role for Duleep Trophy

The Duleep Trophy 2025 is only a few days away, and West Zone, last year’s runners-up, have chosen India’s star all-rounder Shardul Thakur as their captain. But reports suggest that Shardul was not the first choice for the role. The selectors had originally wanted Shreyas Iyer to lead the team.

According to sources, selection committee chairman Sanjay Patil offered the captaincy to Iyer for the red-ball tournament. However, Iyer showed no interest in taking up the role. Because of his refusal, the selectors then turned to Shardul Thakur, who happily accepted the chance to lead West Zone.

“Yes, it’s true that Iyer said no to the offer from the West Zone selection committee to be captain. After that, the committee chairman Sanjay Patil, who is also Mumbai’s chief selector, asked Shardul Thakur to take the role. Thakur happily accepted the chance to lead the team,” a source told the Mumbai Mirror newspaper.

Iyer Left Out of Asia Cup Squad

Shreyas Iyer was not selected by the All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee for India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. This surprised many fans and experts, as he was expected to make the team after an excellent IPL season with Punjab Kings (PBKS). He scored 604 runs in 17 matches with an average of over 50.

Despite the setback, Iyer is now focusing on First-Class cricket. He will play an important role in West Zone’s middle order. The team’s top order includes big names like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Harvik Desai, while Iyer will share the middle-order responsibility with Sarfaraz Khan.

West Zone Squad:

The team includes Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harvik Desai, Aarya Desai, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale, and Jaymeet Patel.