Indian batter and Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer was snubbed for a spot in the 18-man squad for the five-match England tour announced on Saturday. Over the last year or so, Iyer has played consistently good knocks in domestic cricket, including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, but that wasn’t enough for the selectors to consider him back in the Indian Test setup.
Notably, Iyer found himself out of an India contract last year after missing a domestic match, but the batter returned to the BCCI’s good graces this year after his performance in the Champions Trophy helped Team India win the 50-over event.
During an episode of Bails and Banter on OTTplay, former India cricketer Atul Wassan reacted to the exclusion of Iyer from the squad, saying, “Shreyas Iyer’s name is not mentioned in the Test team for India for the England tour. We cannot imagine what his mental stage is, and Kuldeep Yadav got selected from his team. So I think there is once sadness and once happiness,”
“I think Shreyas will be very disappointed because of the way he batted and proved his maturity and sensibility so he deserved to be in the Indian squad for the England tour and I am shocked because there is no Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and even after this Shreyas who was really ready was opted out and selected some other players which is also right but Shreyas should have been there.” Wassan added
“Every player wants to play Test cricket, and Shreyas must be thinking that he has missed the opportunity because this was the time to settle in the Test team.” he further stated.
Ajit Agarkar on Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from Test side:
Chairman of Indian selection committee Ajit Agarkar was asked about Iyer’s exclusion from the Test side during the press conference on Saturday where he replied, “Every player wants to play Test cricket, and Shreyas must be thinking that he has missed the opportunity because this was the time to settle in the Test team. I mean if he keeps doing well I am sure he will find a spot back in Test cricket at some stage.”