The omission of Shreyas Iyer from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad sparked reactions across the cricketing community, with many fans and experts questioning the selectors’ decision. Iyer had a remarkable IPL 2025 season, where he not only scored consistently with the bat but also led Punjab Kings to their first final in over a decade. The right-hander finished with 604 runs in 17 innings, averaging 50.33 with a strike rate of 175.07, making him the sixth highest run-scorer of the tournament. His impressive leadership during the franchise season also led some voices in Indian cricket to suggest that he should be handed the responsibility of leading India at the international level.
However, Rajasthan Royals pacer Sandeep Sharma does not agree with this idea.
In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, the experienced seamer explained why IPL captaincy cannot be equated with leading the national side. “See, this debate that he as a captain took his team to the finals is senseless. Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] is not doing the captaincy of any franchise. So that is not the criteria to be the captain of the Indian side. And for the last three years, Rohit was not doing the captaincy of any franchise. But still, he was the captain of T20 Indian team and one day side is still the same captain. And he was the captain of all three formats of Tests. So that is not the criteria that what you do in IPL. IPL is totally different. It is a domestic league,” Sharma said.
Sharma elaborated on the difference between managing an IPL franchise and leading the national setup. “Like that BCCI has its own domestic league, right? And when you are picking an international team, there you are picking 15 people. So you pick a captain who will manage 15 people better there. Here in IPL, you have a lot of domestic players, a lot of young players. Some of them come from overseas. But here you are picking someone who will manage 15 people better here. So this debate, I feel senseless that what is he doing in IPL. These two teams are totally different teams. Indian team is a totally different team. IPL team is a totally different team. So I feel people need to learn and people need to understand more about this thing before commenting,” he added.
ALSO READ – New Zealand Legend Ross Taylor Comes Out Of Retirement To Represent This Team In T20 World Cup Qualifier
Shreyas To Be Made ODI Captain
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is weighing middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer as a strong candidate to lead India’s ODI side, according to a report by Dainik Jagran. His name has surfaced in leadership discussions despite his surprise omission from the Asia Cup 2025 squad, a move that left fans and experts perplexed. Shubman Gill, who is currently serving as T20 vice-captain for the Asia Cup under Suryakumar Yadav, had earlier been handed the Test captaincy before India’s tour of England. At 34, Suryakumar may soon relinquish his leadership duties, making Gill the frontrunner for long-term captaincy across formats.
Sources further reveal that Iyer came very close to being picked for the Asia Cup T20 squad but missed out due to the restriction of only 15 players traveling to Dubai. His exclusion sparked fan outrage and accusations of “dirty politics” on social media.
Meanwhile, BCCI insiders confirmed that extensive discussions are underway regarding India’s leadership structure in all three formats. Gill, who turns 26 next month, is seen as the face of India’s future captaincy plans. A senior BCCI source explained, “Gill was chosen as Test captain because no player can captain all three formats continuously. Naming him T20 vice-captain is another sign that we are grooming him for the future.”