The Indian cricket team is set to tour England for five Test matches in June. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled an 18-member squad last Saturday, which received mixed reactions from fans and the cricketing fraternity. One of the most discussed topics was the omission of Shreyas Iyer, who had an excellent domestic and international outing. The selectors were questioned for ignoring Shreyas' brilliant form, with one journalist insisting that the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, gave a detailed and elaborate answer.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir was also asked about Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the Test squad. In response, Gambhir said, "Main selector nahi hoon," translating to 'I am not the selector'. This reply indicated that the selection process doesn't involve coaching staff, which was quite surprising. During the 12th episode of Bails and Banter on the OTTplay app, former Indian pacer Atul Wassan took a hilarious dig at the Indian coach, saying, 'he doesn't select; he only rejects'.
Coach plays a key role in team selection: Atul Wassan
Reacting to Gambhir's comment, Wassan said that a coach plays a key role in the team selection process. He said, "The coach has a role in team selection, and selectors also listen to them before naming the squad."
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to Gambhir's comment, Wassan said that a coach plays a key role in the team selection process. He said, "The coach has a role in team selection, and selectors also listen to them before naming the squad."
{{/usCountry}}Wassan further defended the Indian head coach, saying that sometimes the coach has to go with the feel of selecting his choice of players, irrespective of being right or wrong. "If he (Gautam Gambhir) has been given this position, then I think he deserves to go with his feeling, whether it's right or wrong."
Iyer's India record is not as much, but certainly not poor by any stretch of the imagination. In 14 matches, he's scored 811 runs, including a century on debut against New Zealand, only to follow it with a half-century. Besides, he scored a 92 against Sri Lanka and produced crucial knocks of 86 and 87 against Bangladesh to help India avoid a scare.
What could have been a reason behind Iyer's omission is the perception that he looks slightly underprepared against the short balls. And rest assured, there'll be plenty of short-pitched stuff in England with the Dukes ball. In 2022, when India played the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham, England head coach Brendon McCullum infamously signalled the throat-cut, indicating his bowlers to go after the batter with a barrage of short balls. The play worked as Iyer fell into the trap, scoring 15 and 19.
Iyer has worked a lot of the short balls but perhaps against the likes of Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse and others. Iyer has been a force to reckon with in white-ball cricket for India, enjoying a stellar run at the 2023 World Cup and some fine outings during the Champions Trophy earlier this year in February-March. Still, there is a belief that after being stripped off the BCCI's Central Contracts list, it may take Iyer some more time to break back into the Test fold, probably during the home series later in 2025.