The squad was announced at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, alongside T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. However, Iyer’s absence became the major talking point, with Manjrekar expressing his displeasure through a video posted on Instagram.
“It’s something I’ve noticed over the years, selectors rewarding players for performances in one format by including them in another. It makes no cricketing sense,” Manjrekar said. “Shreyas Iyer not making this T20 squad is shocking. He worked hard after being left out earlier, came back stronger against England in ODIs, and then carried that form into the IPL.”
Iyer’s Remarkable Form Ignored
Despite not playing a T20I for India since December 2023, Iyer has been in red-hot form. He played a crucial role in India’s Champions Trophy triumph in Dubai earlier this year, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 243 runs in five innings. In IPL 2025, Iyer captained Punjab Kings to a runners-up finish and emerged as one of the standout performers of the season. He scored 604 runs in 14 innings, including six half-centuries, at an average of 50.33 and an impressive strike rate of 175.07.
“No batter matched his consistency this season, an average over 50, a strike rate above 170, and match-winning knocks for his team. And yet, he is left out of the very format in which he excelled,” Manjrekar stressed.
Selection Logic Questioned
Manjrekar further questioned the decision to include players based on their Test match form while ignoring Iyer’s dominance in T20 cricket. Without naming directly, he appeared to point at Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the squad. “It’s baffling when someone gets picked in T20s purely for Test performances, especially at the cost of a proven T20 performer like Iyer. This kind of selection logic doesn’t help the team. India may still do well in the Asia Cup, but what’s wrong is wrong. Iyer has been wronged by the selectors,” Manjrekar concluded.