'Maybe Shreyas Iyer isn't as favoured': Did Abhishek Nayar hint at favoritism in Gautam Gambhir's Asia Cup 2025 squad?
During a fiery Star Sports discussion with host Raunak Kapoor and former opener Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Nayar hinted at favoritism in the Indian squad, igniting fresh controversy.
Why was Shreyas Iyer snubbed?
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar attempted to explain: "It's very unfortunate for Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Abhishek doing well, he can bowl as well - one of the two was going to miss out - same with Shreyas, not his fault. With respect to Shreyas Iyer, who can he replace? It's no fault of his, but neither ours."
Abhishek Nayar hints at favoritism
Iyer's shocking omission triggered a wave of online debate, and Nayar added fuel to the fire: "I cannot digest the fact. Any selection after a while is about 'who you like a little more than the other.' Maybe Shreyas isn't as favoured as someone else."
🚨🚨Abhishek Nayar on Shreyas : I cannot digest the fact. Any selection after a while, its about "who you like a little more than the other"👉Shreyas Iyer is not as liked as someone else.Riyan Parag or someone else will make the cut.But "AAP TEAM ME NAHI AANE WALE HO" pic.twitter.com/1TL4Vy6uDo
Fans have taken Nayar's words as a damning revelation, suggesting Shreyas Iyer may not enjoy the same support from BCCI management and selectors as other players. The inclusion of Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh - despite their lack of standout performances in the IPL 2025 season - has only fueled suspicions. Many believe coach Gautam Gambhir continues to favour players from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp.
Abhishek Nayar has just made it clear on Star Sports that some people in the team management don't like Shreyas Iyer.Riyan Parag or someone else will make the cut, but you're not getting into this team.Shame on you .@GautamGambhir 🤡 pic.twitter.com/ILjjrBtrTT
'Maybe Shreyas is not liked as someone else is' - Abhishek NayarThe above statement sums it up. If not for Virat's sacrifice & Shreyas Capitalising on it, he would have been out of the ODIs scheme of things too. Who's to say he won't be now that people have forgotten CT https://t.co/VCFELgE15Y
Abhishek Nayar has just made it clear on Star Sports that Iyer is not liked by the TM and the selectors that much over some of the other players. This could be one of the reasons Nayar was removed as the assistant coach. Nayar was w the team just 2 months ago.
Some even speculate that this internal friction could explain Nayar's own exit as India's assistant coach, adding another layer of controversy to the saga.
Asia Cup 2025 squad
Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel.
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