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The former BCCI President and Indian cricket legend Sourav Ganguly has criticised India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar and the board for dropping middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, despite his consistent performances with the bat in recent times. Ganguly, known for his calm demeanour off the field, expressed his disappointment over the decision of ignoring a player of Iyer’s calibre, especially after his strong domestic and IPL showings.
Sourav Ganguly slams Shreyas Iyer’s omission from Test Squad
Talking to RevSportz, Ganguly expressed that Iyer has been performing at his best over the past year and deserved a place in the squad. According to him, Iyer has shown significant growth, delivering under pressure, taking responsibility, and handling short-pitched bowling with confidence. While acknowledging that Test cricket presents a different challenge, Ganguly felt Iyer should have been included in the series to assess his capabilities in the longer format.
“He has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn’t the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket’s different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do,” Ganguly stated.
Ganguly also believes India have a strong chance of winning, provided the team bats well and Jasprit Bumrah remains fit. He pointed out that India had previously secured a historic win in Australia with a young squad, even in the absence of senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. For him, that triumph proves there’s no reason why the team can’t replicate such success again.
He added, “Yes, we can win. We just need to bat well and hope Bumrah stays fit. We won in Australia with a young team missing Kohli and Rohit—so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
Iyer’s scintillating run in last one year
Iyer has been in scintillating touch in domestic cricket and the IPL which became a point of discussion. He has scored over 600 runs in IPL 2025 and took his side to the final. Iyer was among the top performers in the Ranji Trophy last season scoring 480 runs at an impressive average of 68.57 in seven innings. Moreover, Iyer was also the highest run-scorer for India in the Champions Trophy 2025, playing several match-winning innings during the team’s title-winning campaign.
