The shocking omission of Shreyas Iyer from India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 has become one of the hottest debates among the cricket fraternity in the world of cricket. Reacting to the controversy, former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof made a bold remark.
Maharoof said that Shreyas Iyer’s snub doesn’t have anything to do with the lack of form or ability, but it is simply that breaking into the current Indian cricket team has become one of the toughest jobs in world cricket. He also noted that India’s bench strength has reached staggering levels, where getting a place becomes a player’s biggest challenge ever before.
Farveez Maharoof blames India’s strong bench strength for Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup 2025 exclusion
The former Sri Lankan cricketer also praised India’s structure, highlighting how the IPL continues providing the national setup with ready-made match winners. He said that plenty of talents gives India a unique advantage in T20 cricket, where flexibility and depth often decide tournaments.
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And the results speak for themselves. Since their T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, the Indian team has won the successive T20I series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, and England. Their last defeat in the format came way back in August 2023 against the West Indies.
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India’s depth leaves Farveez Maharoof awestruck
Farveez Maharoof was quoted as saying by Sports Tak: “There are so many players to choose from there; for example, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer can’t find a place in the Indian side, which shows the strength of the Indian setup. It’s just on paper, man. And also with the IPL initiated, so many players are coming through. So, it’s certainly a choice for when it comes to players, and just on paper, based on my gut feeling.”
Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik has openly questioned the Indian selectors’ decision-making over Iyer’s snub. The former Indian wicketkeeper batter said that Iyer’s Asia Cup 2025 snub shows that the doors could be closing on one of India’s most dependable batters.
Dinesh Karthik warns Indian selectors against closing doors on Shreyas Iyer
Notably, Iyer hasn’t just been overlooked from the main squad but has also failed to secure even a spot among the reserves, and Karthik felt it was a really unfair call, especially keeping in mind the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
Dinesh Karthik said in a video on Instagram, “Where is Shreyas Iyer? That’s the big question, isn’t it? How could he miss out? To a point, it’s understandable. He wasn’t part of the 15, considering how well Team India has done. 17 out of the last 20 they have won, so okay, continuity, fair.”
The cricket pandit further explained, “But not making him part of the other five players that you have earmarked for the near future with the T20 World Cup in mind? Closing doors on him? That’s a tad bit unfair, and I hope it doesn’t happen because he has done outstandingly well as a leader, but even better as a batter under pressure.”
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