'The Talent Is Unbelievable': Ex-English Spinner Backs Shreyas Iyer's T20I Credentials, Explains The Biggest Reason Behind His Asia Cup 2025 Snub

Suryakumar-led India are currently gearing up to play the upcoming 2025 edition of the Asia Cup. India start their campaign on September 10, 2025 with a match against the United Arab Emirates. The 'men in blue' are currently in a transitional phase, but their T20I team looks extremely settled and has been doing extremely well ever since Suryakumar Yadav took up the leadership charges. India recently unveiled their squad for Asia Cup 2025, but it had more questions than answers, courtesy of the manner in which the squad has been made.

Monty Panesar Reacts To Shreyas Iyer's Exclusion From Asia Cup Squad

Shubman Gill's appointment as the T20I vice-captain and Shreyas Iyer's snub from India's Asia Cup garnered a lot of eyeballs. Iyer in particular has been in some impeccable form and he had scored over 600 runs in the eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League. Iyer also led Punjab Kings to their second final in IPL history. Interestingly, Iyer had also helped the Kolkata Knight Riders to win their third IPL title in the year 2024.

Ex-England spinner Monty Panesar feels that Shreyas Iyer's biggest quality might be working against him. Panesar while speaking to India Today said that India currently have their leadership options well covered and hence this might be preventing the Indian selectors from picking Iyer up in the squad.

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"I think he being the captain in IPL makes it a bit difficult for him to get into that team. But I do believe, if he keeps scoring runs, he should be playing. But it's just the talent, the talent is unbelievable. It gives them an opportunity to bring in someone younger, a bit more exciting to play, who would be easier to manage for coach Gautam Gambhir," said Monty Panesar.

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Shubman Gill's Batting Position Under The Scanner

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have been India's regular opener in the T20I format. Now Shubman Gill's inclusion in the Asia Cup squad has put Samson and India's number three Tilak Varma's future under the scanner. India's vice-captain Gill can now either open the batting for India or he can play at number three in India's current T20I setup.