Follow UsThere is a proverb in Hindi, “Aadhi chhod poori ko dhaave, aadhi mile na poori paave” which literally translates to 'when a man chases the half, he neither gets the half nor the whole.' This is exactly what has happened to India batter and Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer.
The 30-year-old was apparently offered the captaincy role by the West Zone selection committee for the Duleep Trophy 2025. However, Iyer declined, saying that he is hopeful of making it to India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad, which will be held in the T20 format from September 9 onwards in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Now, he has neither the West Zone captaincy nor a place in the Asia Cup 2025 squad of India.
Confirming the news, The Times of India quoted a source close to the development as saying, “Yes, it's true Iyer turned down the offer from the West Zone selection committee to captain the team.
“After that, the chairman of the committee, Sanjay Patil, who is also the Mumbai chief selector, approached Thakur to lead West Zone, an opportunity that Thakur gladly accepted,” added the source.
After the Duleep Trophy 2025 squad was announced, Iyer, who was named in it, started preparing for the Asia Cup, practising with a white-ball with his personal coach Pravin Amre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex of the Cricket Club of India (CCI). However, the wait for a T20I return for the PBKS captain now continues.