Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed disappointment over Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from the Test squad for the upcoming tour of England. The former BCCI president said that Iyer has been in excellent form across all formats over the past year and added that the batter has shown improvement.
In IPL 2025, Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average above 50 and a remarkable strike rate of 175.07 — the highest among the top 10 run-scorers. He guided Punjab Kings (PBKS) to their first IPL final since 2014. However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his panel did not include Iyer for the England tour.
Shreyas Iyer Has Been Playing at His Best – Sourav Ganguly
Speaking to RevSportz, Sourav Ganguly shared his views on Shreyas Iyer’s absence from India’s Test squad. He said that Iyer has the ability to handle pressure and take responsibility. Ganguly added that he would have included Iyer in the squad to assess his capabilities in the format.
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“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 told RevSportz.
Shreyas Iyer’s Exclusion from the Test Squad for England Tour Raises Eyebrows
Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from the Test squad for the England tour has raised eyebrows, especially since he’s a regular in the ODI setup. He last played a Test in 2024 against England at home. In the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, he scored 480 runs at an impressive average of 68.57, including two centuries.
With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from Test cricket, Iyer’s absence is even more surprising. India will commence their five-match Test series against England on June 20 at Headingley. The middle-order responsibilities will be on captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
There is also a possibility that players like Sai Sudharsan or Karun Nair could make the playing XI, depending on whether the team prefers a batting-heavy lineup or opts to include a seam-bowling all-rounder such as Shardul Thakur or Nitish Kumar Reddy.
I Do Not See Why We Cannot Win – Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly remains optimistic about India’s chances in the upcoming Test series in England. Ganguly said that India can win, adding that batting and Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness will be key. He recalled India’s memorable victory in Melbourne during the 2020-21 Australia tour.
“Yes, sure. We just need two things, batting well and [Jasprit] Bumrah remaining fit. We won in Australia, in Melbourne (2020-21), with a young batting line-up, having no [Virat] Kohli, no Rohit Sharma. So, I do not see why we cannot win,” Ganguly said (via the aforementioned source).
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