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Former Aussie Keeper, NZ Legend Join Long List Of 'Shocked Men After Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup Omission'
Follow UsIyer, who led two teams to back-to-back IPL finals in 2024 and 2025, last played for India in the shortest format in December 2023
The omission of Shreyas Iyer from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad has caused a furore of a sort, with a lot of former cricketers reacting to it and calling it unfair on the part of the Champions Trophy-winning Indian batter.
The latest to join the list is former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin.
In a podcast show, Haddin said that he thought Iyer would be India’s T20 captain after the kind of performance he showed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025, leading Punjab Kings (PBKS).
“Well, one, leadership qualities. Two, the style of player he is under pressure, and he’s someone that everyone plays better with when he’s in the team. I had no idea. I first thought when I was reading it that he was injured, but he was not. So, it’s a strange decision for me because he brings so much to the game. I actually thought he was going to be captain,” Haddin was quoted as saying by Indian Express on the Willow Talk podcast.
New Zealand legend Ross Taylor, who is in India for the CLT10 competition, also expressed shock at Iyer not being picked, but said that it also shows India’s depth as a cricketing nation. “I haven’t seen the side yet so can’t say. (But) when you can leave that type of quality out, you’ve got to be pretty comfortable with the depth of your squad,” he was quoted by Indian Express, as saying to PTI videos.
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder, Farveez Maharoof, also present at the same event as Taylor, said that India's chief selector was too straightforward in calling the non-selection unfortunate for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Iyer.
"Agarkar is just too straightforward. These two guys haven’t done anything wrong. One (Jaiswal) takes on the bowlers from ball one, while the other is a leader of men. The system in India to produce players is fantastic," he said.
Iyer, who led two teams to back-to-back IPL finals in 2024 and 2025, last played for India in the shortest format in December 2023 against Australia. It was after this that he was sidelined altogether from the T20Is and, later on, the Test side.