Shreyas Iyer won't be blamed for breaking TV sets, glass bottles after Asia Cup snub: Wait for how long, Ajit Agarkar?

Hindustan Times

13 hours ago

A Rage Room is a private space where aggrieved individuals can express their frustrations in a liberatingly physical manner. Draped in protective equipment, they are presented with a curated line-up of breakable items – glass bottles, old television sets, ceramics – that they can smash to smithereens to let off steam. Had Shreyas Iyer sought out a Rage Room on Tuesday, he would have been perfectly entitled to do so. Shreyas Iyer was not picked for India's Asia Cup squad
Shreyas had good cause to believe he'd be back in India's Twenty20 plans when the national selectors met in Mumbai to pick the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup, in the desert sands of the Emirates next month. With six months to India's defence of the World Cup grabbed spectacularly in Bridgetown in June last year, the process of fine-tuning preparations for the big bash begins with the continental showdown. Shreyas must have felt the volume of work he had put in, especially during IPL 2025, was sufficient for him to return to the T20I scheme of things for the first time since December 2023 (when he played the last of his 51 games), but Ajit Agarkar and his fellow wise men deigned otherwise.
There were numerous compelling reasons for Shreyas' inclusion: 604 delightful runs while leading Punjab Kings to the final in this year's IPL, at an average of 50.33 and a fabulous strike-rate of 175.07, easily the best among the ten highest run-getters (Shreyas sat at No. 6). His experience and expertise against the turning ball on the same surfaces where his middle-order composure and nous were pivotal to India's success in the 50-over Champions Trophy in February-March. His recent emergence as an accomplished player of the short ball, which had troubled him no end until a year and a bit back. His ability to take the fight to the bowlers from the off, a character trait T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir are strong advocates of. His tactical awareness and leadership bucket that Suryakumar could have dipped into in a tight corner. His electric agility and excellent fielding, anywhere on the park. And yet, here is Shreyas, not only missing from the 15-man party but also omitted from the reserves.
Have you hit the Rage Room yet, Shreyas?
Agarkar was, inevitably, questioned about the 30-year-old's continued non-inclusion. 'It's unfortunate that he misses out,' the former India pacer replied. 'It's no fault of his, neither ours. He has to wait for his chance.'
Wait for how long, Ajit? How much Iyer (pardon the terrible pun) must Shreyas go to warrant a T20 comeback?
India's desire to back multi-skilled players and to strike a balance between left- and right-handed batters isn't a secret, which is perhaps why Rinku Singh (in the 15) and Riyan Parag (in the reserves) have stolen a march over Shreyas, pretty much a specialist batter like Suryakumar and his deputy Shubman Gill. Whether Rinku's left-handedness (and very occasional off-spin) and/or Parag's admittedly decent assortment of spin are worth more than Shreyas' class and quality can be up for debate but in the eyes of those that matter, they certainly seem to be for now.
Even though he has been playing senior representative cricket for more than a decade, Shreyas is still only 30 and should by no means be staring at a premature end to his international T20 career. After the Asia Cup, India will play 15 guaranteed matches leading into the World Cup to be jointly staged in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. Those three five-match faceoffs – at home against South Africa and New Zealand, which will sandwich a showdown in Australia in the winter – will be used to allow the chosen ones to settle into their roles and put role clarity to optimal use. Barring the unforeseen (or the miraculous, if you are Shreyas), it is hard to see him being reintegrated with the T20 set-up in the immediate future, which is a big shame because he has so much to offer the Indian team now that he has become a more rounded all-format batter.
Perhaps one of the factors that worked against Shreyas is that he is at his best at Nos. 3 and 4, currently locked in by Suryakumar and Tilak Varma (in whichever order). Hardik Pandya or Axar Patel at No. 5 are game-breakers and India have further firepower in the form of Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube, which means a lot of rejig would have had to be undertaken to accommodate Shreyas, no matter how impressive his recent numbers might be. The persistence with those who have done the job in the last 12 months is commendable, but when an exception has been made for Test captain Gill, it begs the question whether that same privilege couldn't have been extended to Shreyas as well.