Nonsense: Ajit Agarkar is criticized by Kris Srikkanth for Iyer’s Asia Cup snub justification

Ajit Agarkar, the head of the senior national selection committee, has come under fire from former India captain and top selector Kris Srikkanth for leaving Shreyas Iyer out of India’s 2025 Asia Cup roster.

Srikkanth claimed he was unable to understand Agarkar’s justification for excluding Iyer from the 15-man roster for the continental event, which gets underway in the United Arab Emirates on September 9.

of his explanation of the choice, Agarkar emphasized the difficulties of choosing a T20I team from a large pool of talent. He posed the question of at whose expense Iyer could be included in the final 15.

“Who can Shreyas replace in this regard? It’s neither his fault nor ours. At the moment, you can only pick 15,” Agarkar said.

Interestingly, Iyer did not even make the Asia Cup five-man reserves roster. Iyer was left out when India added Dhruv Jurel, a third wicketkeeper, to their traveling reserves.

Srikkanth was harsh in his criticism on his YouTube channel.

“Shreyas Iyer is a no-brainer on his present form. Let’s be clear about that. You need to look at recent matches; there’s no point judging a player by form from a year ago. He scored 600 runs in the IPL at a strike rate of 175. Strike rate is the most important factor here,” he said.

He’s been outstanding. But you haven’t mentioned him. Now you have him perplexed,” Srikkanth continued.

You’re asking a player who has done so well to “tell me who he will replace in the side.” This statement is incomprehensible to me. Agarkar’s statement is ridiculous. Completely illogical. I don’t agree with him.”

See Also: T20I doors remain closed despite Shreyas Iyer’s forceful knocks

Iyer had an incredible IPL 2025 season; he last played T20I Cricket for India in December 2023. He led the Punjab Kings and amassed 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 in 17 games, demonstrating a noticeable change in strategy with an all-out attacking style that put the needs of the team first.

Srikkanth maintained that Iyer’s IPL form was noticeably superior and that he should have been chosen over players like Rinku Singh or Shivam Dube.

Even while Rinku and Dube have been India’s finishers, their most recent performances—especially in the IPL 2025—were far from their finest.

“NO LOGIC AT ALL”

Sanju Samson’s lackluster performance in the IPL 2025 and the five-match T20I series against England earlier this year raised additional concerns about his inclusion, according to Srikkanth. In the IPL, Samson only scored 285 runs at a strike rate of 140.

“Shreyas Iyer cannot be accommodated, but Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, and Sanju Samson can. What does this statement mean? The reasoning behind this is beyond my comprehension. “There is absolutely no logic,” Srikkanth remarked.

He added that he was shocked that Yashasvi Jaiswal had not been included.

“You see, Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing in the IPL and international cricket. What had he done wrong? How are you able to ignore him? He inquired.

Shubman Gill was merely a reserve for the T20 World Cup team, while Jaiswal was a member. Jaiswal has failed to secure a spot in the Asia Cup squad, despite maintaining his excellent form in all formats and amassing 559 runs at a strike rate of around 160 in the IPL. In the meantime, Gill has rejoined the T20I team as vice captain.

On September 10, India will play the United Arab Emirates in Dubai to begin their Asia Cup T20 campaign.

India’s 2025 Asia Cup squad

Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the backups.