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3 min readApr 20, 2026 02:07 PM IST
Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a 69-run blitz, maintaining his team's 100% win record in IPL 2026 with a victory over SRH. (CREIMAS)
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has praised Shreyas Iyer for his ability to chase down big scores, admitting that the right-hander was currently in a zone of his own and ahead of Rajat Patidar, as far as his spot in India’s T20I squad is concerned.
Iyer has made a strong start to his IPL 2026 campaign, with 208 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 182.46. His captaincy has also helped the Punjab Kings stay the only unbeaten side of the season, so far. The 31-year-old was part of India’s squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand before the T20 World Cup after Tilak Varma was injured, but was not included in the squad which went on to defend the title.
“The audacity with which he is going about 200-220 chases is exceptional. At this point of time, if he’s not going to find higher honors, it’s not his loss anymore. It’s ours that we can’t see him performing for the Indian team in national colors. Very similar to Rajat [Patidar], but I just feel Shreyas is in a zone of his own. Rajat is exceptional, great spin hitter, but I just feel Shreyas is a couple of notches higher,” Ashwin said on ESPNCricinfo.
The 39-year-old outlined his selection philosophy for India’s teams in the shortest formats, admitting that the best 15 players had to be in the scheme of things.
“When somebody has to be there in the team, write their name down. Just need to pick 15 – best 15 names possible. Don’t worry about who is missing out. In the case of Yashasvi Jaiswal, for that matter, the guy is an absolute monster. His hunger for runs is exceptional. Is he good enough to be written down for a list that is being prepared for an India T20I side? For sure. So, you write it down in that order and not worry about who you are replacing and then figure out who’s going to be a standby,” he added.
The 106-Test veteran also admitted that India’s current depth could allow them to field two teams, like how Australia could in the past.
“At one point of time, when Australia were at their peak, we used to play a tri-series with Australia and Australia A. Put together two squads, it will be nice to watch,” Ashwin said.
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India’s next T20I series will be against Ireland in June, where teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could be in contention to feature in the squad.
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