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India's Shreyas Iyer during the fifth T20 International between India and Australia held at the The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on the 3rd December 2023. (Sportzpics)
Former Australia player Brad Haddin expressed shock talking about Shreyas Iyer getting excluded from India’s Asia Cup squad which was announced on Tuesday. Iyer, who was not even picked as a standby, has not played the shortest format for India since December 2023.
“Well, one, leadership qualities. Two, the style of player he is under pressure, and he’s someone that everyone plays better with when he’s on the team. I had no idea. I first thought when I was reading it that he was injured, but he’s not. So, it’s a strange decision for me because he brings so much to the game. I actually thought he was going to be captain. Extraordinary selection,” Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast.
Iyer, who guided Punjab Kings to the IPL final earlier this year, scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07. In 2024, he had led Kolkata Knight Riders to their 3rd IPL title before being released by the franchise ahead of the mega auctions last December.
‘Mera naseeb hain’
Even Shreyas’s father in a recent interaction with times of India had expressed his disappointment due to his son missing out. “I don’t know what else Shreyas has to do to make it to the Indian T20 team. He has been performing so well in the IPL year after year, from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders to Punjab Kings, and that too as a captain. He even captained KKR to the IPL title in 2024 and led PBKS to the final this year,” he said.
He said Shreyas would not show his dissent, but deep down, he would be disappointed with this decision. “I am not saying make him the Indian captain, but at least select him in the team. Even if he’s left out, he never shows dissent. He’ll simply say, ‘Mera naseeb hai’ (It’s my luck; you can’t do anything now). He is always cool and calm,” said Santosh.
“He doesn’t blame anybody, but deep inside he must be naturally disappointed,” he had added.
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