Ajit Agarkar's comment sparks row as Shreyas Iyer left 'confused' by Asia Cup snub: 'Was a nonsensical statement'

Kris Srikkanth slammed Ajit Agarkar’s “nonsensical” remark after Shreyas Iyer’s Asia Cup snub despite his strong IPL and white-ball form.

Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has called out incumbent chief selector Ajit Agarkar for leaving Shreyas Iyer out of the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup and for making a “nonsensical” statement to explain his omission.

Shreyas Iyer has not been named in the 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2025

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth — a former chief selector himself — admitted he was utterly baffled by the team management’s decision to exclude Iyer from the T20I tournament despite his recent white-ball form, which includes strong performances in the Champions Trophy and the IPL.

When asked about the decision to omit the Punjab Kings captain during Tuesday’s press conference, Agarkar outlined the challenges of selection. He even countered by asking who Iyer could have replaced in the side, before admitting that there was no fault in the batter’s performances.

“With regard to Shreyas, who can he replace? No fault of his, nor is it ours. At the moment, you can only pick 15,” Agarkar said.

Not only was Iyer left out of the 15-member squad, he also failed to find a place in the standby list, further fuelling criticism over his omission.

“On current form, Shreyas Iyer is an automatic choice. Let’s be very clear. You need to look at recent matches; there’s no point judging a player by form from a year ago. He scored 600 runs in the IPL at a strike rate of 175. Strike rate is the most important factor here,” Srikkanth said.

“He has been brilliant. Yet you have left him out. You’ve confused him now,” he added.

“For a player who has performed so well, you are saying: ‘tell me who he will replace in the side’. I cannot understand this statement. It’s a nonsensical statement from Agarkar. Totally nonsensical. I don’t agree with him.”

‘I cannot understand the logic’

Srikkanth also questioned the inclusion of Sanju Samson in the squad, pointing to his IPL 2025 numbers — 285 runs at a strike rate of 140. The former opener argued that Iyer was a better fit compared to the wicketkeeper-batter.

“You can accommodate Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson, but there’s no place for Shreyas Iyer. What is this statement? I cannot understand the logic behind this. There’s no logic at all,” he said.