Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed strong disappointment over Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from India’s squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, beginning June 20 at the Headingley in Leeds.
Iyer, who has been a consistent middle-order performer in white-ball cricket, last played a Test match in February 2024 versus England. As his short-ball weakness became evident, the Indian team management decided to drop him from the Test set-up. However, since then, Iyer has improved a lot.
He has been one of India’s best batters in ODIs. In the Champions Trophy 2025, Shreyas Iyer was the top-scorer of the team with his 243 runs coming in a tournament-winning campaign. The 30-year-old is also making his case for a T20I comeback with his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the 2025 season, he scored 604 runs in 17 innings and took Punjab Kings (PBKS) to their first final since 2014.
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Sourav Ganguly Unimpressed with Shreyas Iyer's Test Snub
Ganguly, never one to mince words, voiced his thoughts in an interview with Revsportz, clearly backing Iyer’s return in the longest format.
Ganguly did not seem happy with the fact that Iyer was overlooked for the Test series between India and England despite the form he is in. He argued that Iyer’s ability to perform in high-pressure games as seen in IPL 2025 merited at least a look-in for the Test side.
"He has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn’t the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket’s different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do," Ganguly said as quoted to Revsportz.
After Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, it was being speculated that Iyer could fill in the vacant middle-order spot. But the Indian team management had a different plan with Iyer being asked to wait once again.
No Room for Shreyas Iyer in Test Cricket: Ajit Agarkar
India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed Iyer’s omission during the squad announcement, noting that there is no room for him currently in Test cricket.
"Shreyas had a good one-day series, played well in domestic as well but right now there's no room in Test cricket."
Notably, India will be led by Shubman Gill in the Test series against England with Rohit Sharma now retired. Rishabh Pant will serve as his deputy.
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