Sourav Ganguly Slams Shreyas Iyer's Omission From India's Test Squad
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Shreyas Iyer, who has 811 runs to his name in 14 Tests played so far, last played a five-day match for Team India in February 2024 against England in Vizag.
The Indian men's cricket team will face England in a five-match Test series, which is set to start on June 20 in Leeds. The Ajit Agarkar-led senior India men's selection committee picked an 18-member squad for the first away series of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle last month, but in the team picked under Shubman Gill's leadership, there was no place for Shreyas Iyer. The 30-year-old right-handed batter from Mumbai has been in red-hot form these days. He played all 17 matches of IPL 2025 for Punjab Kings and amassed a total of 604 runs.
But despite his good form, Iyer was not considered for a place in the red-ball squad. Iyer's absence from the squad was questioned by many fans and former greats of the game, and now former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has also joined the bandwagon. According to the former left-handed batter, Iyer should have been in England simply because of his current form in all formats.
'He (Iyer) has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. The last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn't the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, and playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket's different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do," Ganguly told RevSportz.
Iyer, who scored a century for India on his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur (November 2021), last played a red-ball match for Team India in Visakhapatnam last year. He was dropped from the side due to form.
After losing his place in the Test team, Iyer impressed with his batting performances in white-ball cricket. He was India's best batter in the Champions Trophy 2025, which the Rohit Sharma-led side won earlier this year with a 100% win record.
Ganguly, who scored a century for India on his Test debut against England at Lord's in 1996, was also asked about India's chances in the series, and he said, 'Yes, sure. We just need two things: batting well and [Jasprit] Bumrah remaining fit. We won in Australia, in Melbourne (2020-21), with a young batting lineup, having no [Virat] Kohli, no Rohit Sharma. So, I do not see why we cannot win."
First Published:
June 11, 2025, 15:19 IST
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