"Did Shreyas Iyer not deserve to be picked even in the 20?" - Aakash Chopra on batter's omission from India's 2025 Asia Cup squad

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Shreyas Iyer might not have been picked in the Men in Blue's 2025 Asia Cup squad because it would have been difficult to accommodate him in the XI. However, he opined that the right-handed batter's non-inclusion even in the five reserves is worrisome.

The 2025 Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28. Shreyas doesn't figure either in the 15-member Indian squad or the five standbys picked for the continental T20 tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener acknowledged that Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's presence might have made it difficult for Shreyas to get his ideal batting position in the XI. However, he wondered whether the 30-year-old didn't merit a place even in the reserves.

"The biggest question was whether Shreyas Iyer could have been accommodated in this team. I am using the word accommodate because he is your No. 3 or No. 4 player, and you have Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma at those positions. Sometimes you make allowances," Chopra said (1:45).

"He is not an automatic fit. It doesn't seem like he is absolutely perfect. It was a judgment call. Did Shreyas Iyer not deserve to be picked even in the 20? That is a bigger worry," he added.

Reflecting on the squad, Aakash Chopra noted that although Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube have been selected, only one of them would play, and the other might sit out the entire tournament. He added that the one who plays might not get a proper batting position either due to the presence of Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma and Axar Patel in the middle order.

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"I really hope that a phone call has happened" - Aakash Chopra on the communication to Shreyas Iyer about his non-selection

Shreyas Iyer last played a T20I in December 2023. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra expressed hope that the reasoning behind Shreyas Iyer's non-selection in the squad and reserves has been communicated to him.

"I really hope that a phone call has happened where you have told Shreyas why he hasn't been kept in the squad and the reserves, and that he is in your scheme of things. The conversation may or may not have happened, I don't know, but some conversation should have happened," he said (4:25).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that he would have accommodated Shreyas by including him in the XI alongside Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, with either Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh making way for him in the squad.

"If I had tried to accommodate Shreyas Iyer, I would have kept him in the team. I would have been slightly fluid among Shreyas, Tilak and Surya from Nos. 3 to 5. Then I would have kept Hardik at No. 6, Jitesh Sharma at No. 7, and then I might have sacrificed either Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh, and gone with Axar after that," Chopra observed.

However, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that India would have had only five bowlers in the playing XI in such a scenario. He added that Shivam Dube's selection might have been necessitated by the lack of confidence in Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma as the sixth bowling options.