3 reasons why India not picking Shreyas Iyer for ENG vs IND Tests 2025 is the wrong move

Shreyas Iyer was not named in the Indian squad for the upcoming Test series against England. India are set to tour England for a five-match Test series, beginning June 20 this year.

Shubman Gill has been named as the new captain of the Test team, while Rishabh Pant has been named his deputy. The squad also sees the return of Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur.

While chief selector Ajit Agarkar acknowledged Shreyas Iyer's good form, he stated that there was no room for the batter in the current Test team. He last played for India in whites against England in the home series in 2024.

Shreyas had made his Test debut against New Zealand in 2021. He has played 14 Tests so far, scoring 811 runs at an average of 36.86 with one hundred and five half-centuries.

Due to his recent blistering form and a healthy Ranji Trophy return from the last season, his omission has raised questions. Let us take a look at three reasons why ignoring Shreyas Iyer for the England series was the wrong move.

---

#3 Shreyas Iyer has been in good form in domestic cricket

Shreyas Iyer displayed solid form across formats in the last domestic season. He scored 325 runs from five innings with a strike-rate of 131.57 and two centuries in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored 345 runs from eight innings at an average of 49.28 and a strike-rate of 1888.52 with a hundred and a fifty.

Moreover, in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy as well, Shreyas displayed good form, scoring 480 runs from seven innings at an average of 68.57 with two hundreds, including a double hundred. He has been in top form in the ongoing IPL 2025 season too. India may have missed a trick by not trying to capitalize on his exceptional current form in domestic cricket across formats.

---

#2 Stability in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Stalwarts of Indian cricket, star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, recently announced their retirements from Test cricket. The team will be without the experience of the two senior batters during the England tour. Moreover, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are also not in the squad.

With the transition period setting in now, the presence of Shreyas Iyer in the middle order may have benefited the team. He could bring stability to the batting order in the absence of Rohit and Kohli, especially in challenging conditions such as those in England.

---

#1 Ability to play aggressive cricket and counter-attack against an inexperienced English bowling line-up

With the likes of Matthew Potts, Gus Atkinson, and Sam Cook among others, in the absence of veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson, England's pace attack appears relatively inexperienced.

Shreyas Iyer has the ability to not only provide stability but also to play aggressive cricket and counter-attack with his natural style of batting. The right-hander could have proven to be a counter to the 'Bazball' approach and could have taken on the inexperienced English attack to put the pressure back on the bowlers.

Shreyas's attacking intent is something India may miss out on in England.