Shreyas Iyer’s selection for the Indian team has been a talking point in cricketing circles for a while now. Shreyas made headlines in 2024 after he was dropped from the BCCI’s Central Contract list due to non-compliance with the board’s directive to participate in domestic cricket while not on national duty.
Since then, he has played only 17 international games, all coming in the 50-over format. Despite guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and Punjab Kings to the runner-up spot last season, the Mumbai batter has been overlooked in the shortest format of the game. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes Shreyas got a “raw deal”.
“It was just unfair for Shreyas Iyer that his performances down the order didn’t get him in the Indian T20I team, because those are the difficult positions. If he has that angst for somebody for giving that kind of a deal, I think it’s valid,” Manjrekar said on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.
“In the IPL, when his team [Punjab Kings] reached the final, he had a phenomenal IPL. He had the issue where the selectors felt that he was not committing himself enough to domestic cricket, focusing more on the other tournaments. That may have hurt him. When you look at him now and the success Punjab Kings have had, surely we can’t keep him out that long,” he added.
RELATED | ‘I was working on my yorker, swing,’ says MI pacer Ashwani after four-wicket haul
Shreyas had a blockbuster IPL 2025 season with the bat, scoring 604 runs at 50.33 average and a whopping strike rate of 175.07. This season, he has been striking at 182.46 and has already scored three half-centuries in six games. Taking his red-hot form in the IPL into account, Manjrekar believes there is still a spot for Shreyas in the Indian team, possibly even as a potential captaincy option.
“I think there could be a place for him at number four. He is somebody who can take singles on a slow, turning pitch and is a good player of spin. I think he’s done enough to merit a place in the T20 side, and in 50 overs as well,” the former Mumbai batter said.
“The [captaincy] option is always there. After Suryakumar Yadav, who do you give it to? There’s no obvious candidate. So that could be killing two birds with one stone. But, it’s all premature at this stage because he’s not even in the Indian team,” he added.
Published on Apr 21, 2026