De Villiers Puzzled by Iyer’s Omission from Asia Cup Squad

Former South African skipper AB de Villiers voiced his astonishment at Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from India’s Asia Cup 2025 team. He remarked that he struggles to comprehend why a player of Iyer’s caliber was disregarded.

Speaking to the press, the 41-year-old de Villiers stated that Iyer’s development, maturity, and leadership capabilities should have guaranteed his selection.

“It seems odd to me that a quality player like him isn’t in the starting lineup for Team India, especially considering the leadership qualities he brings. Perhaps there are too many leaders already.”
“I honestly don’t know. If it’s a close call, you’d typically favor the player who you believe will maximize the potential of others,” de Villiers commented.

The former Proteas captain also speculated that circumstances beyond the field might have influenced the selectors’ choice.

“He has grown significantly and displayed considerable leadership skills. However, who truly knows what happens behind the scenes? It’s possible that even Shreyas is unaware.
There might be past events that have led to him not being favored for this specific tournament. He is undeniably a talented player and would frequently be on my team,” he added.

De Villiers pointed out that selectors often evaluate a player’s impact on the team atmosphere when deciding between players of similar skill levels.

“Sometimes, when on-field abilities are comparable, other factors come into play. Does the player contribute positively to the team environment? Do they inspire their teammates, or do they drain the squad’s energy? This could be a determining factor,” de Villiers concluded.

Notably, the selection committee, headed by Agarkar, revealed the 15-member Indian squad for the approaching Asia Cup 2025 the previous week, with Suryakumar Yadav remaining as captain and Shubman Gill returning as vice-captain for the T20I team.

The competition, featuring eight teams, will begin on September 9 with a match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

The eight participating teams are divided into two groups. Group A comprises rivals Pakistan and India, along with UAE and Oman. Group B includes Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

India’s first match is against UAE in Dubai on September 10, followed by a highly anticipated clash with Pakistan on September 14, and concluding the group stage against Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.

India’s Asia Cup Squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice captain), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube , Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy , Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson.

Reserve Players:

Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.