• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Agar Pakistan Mein Hote Na Bccis Call To Drop Iyer And Jaiswal Left Ex Player Shocked

"Agar Pakistan Mein Hote Na...": BCCI’s Call To Drop Iyer And Jaiswal Left Ex-Player Shocked

Rajgeeta Yadav

Shreyas Iyer [Source: AFP]Shreyas Iyer [Source: AFP]

BCCI announced India’s 15-player squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday. Suryakumar Yadav will captain the team, with Shubman Gill as his deputy. But what caught everyone’s attention was the absence of two big names, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, both of whom had a fantastic IPL 2025 season.

Basit Ali Slams BCCI Decision

Fans and experts on social media expressed disappointment over the selection. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali also joined the debate, saying he was shocked to see Iyer and Jaiswal left out. Speaking on Kamran Akmal’s YouTube show Gameplan, Basit said:

"Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami agar Pakistan mein hote na ye log A category mey hote (These would have been in Pakistan's A category)," said Basit.

Basit felt the treatment towards Iyer was unfair.

"Iyer ke saad jyadati ho gayi hai. Unko team mey hona chahiye (It was unfortunate that Shreyas Iyer has not been picked)," he said.

Basit Ali Backs Team India Ahead Of Asia Cup 2025

Basit also backed Team India's squad and also added that only Sri Lanka can compete.

"They have got a very explosive squad and I think only Sri Lanka can compete with him," he added.

It is worth mentioning that Asia Cup starts on September 9, but while Jaiswal has at least been named as a travelling reserve, Iyer hasn’t even been picked among the five backup players.

This came as a surprise because Iyer had an outstanding IPL season with the Punjab Kings, scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175, showing an aggressive new approach to T20 cricket. Many expected him to be a key part of India’s Asia Cup plans, especially since he last played for the national side in December 2023.

However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained that India’s T20 squad is extremely competitive right now, and it’s hard to find a spot for Iyer.

Interestingly, reports have also linked Iyer with possibly becoming India’s next ODI captain after Rohit Sharma, making his exclusion from the T20 squad even more surprising.