Shreyas Iyer is almost making it impossible for the national selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir to keep him out of India's T20I team once the next assignment comes by. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain is breaking down doors and scoring runs for fun in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The PBKS skipper played an unbeaten 69-run knock off just 33 balls to help his side chase down the daunting target of 220 with seven wickets in hand and seven balls to spare.
The right-handed batter scored more than 600 runs in the last edition of the IPL as well, in addition to leading the Punjab Kings to the IPL final for the first time in 11 years. However, despite this performance, the 31-year-old wasn't selected for India's T20 World Cup squad. Shreyas, who made his T20I debut for India in 2017, last played a T20I in 2023. He did come into the squad for the series against New Zealand at the World Cup, but only because Tilak Varma was injured.
Looking at Shreyas' recent form, former India batter Manoj Tiwary made a bold statement, saying he would go on a protest if Shreyas still fails to make it to the India playing XI for the shortest format.
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“He showed great composure in his batting. If, even after this, he is not selected for the Indian team, we will go on a protest and fight for him. We will try that he gets what he deserves,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}“He showed great composure in his batting. If, even after this, he is not selected for the Indian team, we will go on a protest and fight for him. We will try that he gets what he deserves,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
{{/usCountry}}“We have already seen that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have taken retirements. The Indian team needs one player who can help the team win by showing full control and help the team win ICC trophies,” he added.
‘Surprised’
Former India batter Virender Sehwag, who was sitting on the same panel as Tiwary, echoed the same sentiment, saying he finds it hard to understand why Shreyas failed to make the World Cup team despite consistent performances in the IPL last season.
“Shreyas finished the match for his team. He did the same in the previous match. Shreyas has been doing this for a long time. I am surprised that he wasn't able to get a spot in India's World Cup team. He did so well in the previous IPL, leading Punjab Kings to the final. I just hope he is able to get a place in the Indian team for the next T20 World Cup,” said Sehwag.
“I will repeat once again that I am surprised that Shreyas wasn't a part of India's T20 World Cup team. I hope that he gets his spot in the T20 team after this year and he is able to cement his place,” he added.
In the four matches Shreyas has played so far in IPL 2026, the batter has scored 137 runs at an average of 68.50 and a strike rate of 187.67.