Star Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was ignored by the Ajit Agarkar-led senior men’s selection committee last month for a place in India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. Iyer’s snub even after he scored
604 runs in 17 matches of IPL 2025 for Punjab Kings with a strike rate of 175.07 came as a big surprise for fans and experts of the game. Iyer, who last played a T20I match for India on December 3, 2023, against Australia in Bengaluru, had a chance to prove the selector’s decision wrong by playing big knocks in the second semifinal of the Duleep Trophy 2025 for West Zone against Central Zone in Bengaluru, but the 30-year-old right-handed batter from Mumbai failed to fire in both innings.
He could only manage to score 25 runs from 28 balls as a No. 5 batter in the first innings of the red-ball match on Thursday (September 4), and on Sunday (September 7), he was sent back to the pavilion by Saransh Jain for a score of 12 runs from 14 balls.
Since West Zone conceded a lead of 162 runs in the first innings, there is almost no chance of them progressing to the final of the Duleep Trophy 2025, and so Iyer will not get another opportunity to prove the selectors wrong.
The right-handed batter will next be seen in action for India A now. He was appointed as the captain of the India A team on Saturday (September 6) for the two unofficial Tests against Australia A. The two red-ball matches are scheduled to take place in Lucknow from September 16 to 19 and from September 23 to 27.
While Iyer failed to do well in both innings, left-handed top-order batter Yashasvi Jaiswal impressed with his batting in the second innings. He faced 70 balls on Sunday and, with the help of three fours and three sixes, amassed a total of 64 runs.
Jaiswal, like Iyer, was also ignored for the Asia Cup 2025, and on Saturday, he was not even picked in the India A squad for two unofficial Tests against Australia A.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was also in action for West Zone on Sunday, but in the second innings he could only manage to score 16 runs. He faced 23 balls and slammed two sixes during his stay at the crease. In the first innings, Gaikwad had scored 184 runs from 206 balls.
