Just a few days back, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India A squad for the upcoming tour of England. The team will be led by the star Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran before the five-match Test series between India and England. India A will play two First-Class games against England Lions before an intrasquad game ahead of the Test series.
Meanwhile, what attracted the eyeballs of the game was the omission of the star batter Shreyas Iyer from the India A squad. He was expected to make it to the India A squad and was also supposed to replace the former India skipper Virat Kohli at number four in Tests after the latter’s retirement.
With that said, here we’ll have a look at the three reasons why Shreyas Iyer should be in India A squad against England.
Recent Form
Shreyas Iyer is currently in action as skipper for Punjab Kings in the ongoing IPL 2025; he has been in a brilliant batting form across all formats. He was also a vital cog in the wheel for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, following his brilliant performances in the domestic First-Class cricket in India.
So, his recent form seems to be one of the major reasons behind his selection in the India A squad, but unfortunately, he was overlooked by the selectors as they decided to count on other options for the number four position. It includes the likes of Karun Nair and Sarfaraz Khan.
Potential No. 4 option for India after Virat Kohli
After the former legendary India Test batter and former skipper, Virat Kohli, announced his Test retirement, there was a discussion in the cricket corridors about the replacement of Kohli at number four in Tests. In his Test career so far, he has batted at number four in only one game, due to the presence of Virat Kohli in the game.
In that appearance, he had scored 56 runs in two innings, with a decent average of 28.00. Besides that, he has been one of the top performers in the middle-order in red-ball cricket. So, he could have been a perfect option to replace Kohli at number four for India in red-ball cricket. The 30-year-old has already impressed with his performances at number four in the ODI format.
Overall red-ball experience
The Mumbai batter has been one of the prominent ‘batting performers’ in red-ball cricket, be it in First-Class cricket or for India at the highest level of the game. In his First-Class career for Mumbai, he has scored 6363 runs in 137 innings of the 81 games he has played. Iyer has scored these runs with a brilliant batting average of 48.57, hitting 15 centuries and 33 half-centuries.
Speaking of his short but illustrious Test career, he has scored 811 runs in 24 innings, with a decent batting average of 36.86, hitting a century and five half-centuries. So, it was quite enough to justify his place in the India A squad, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen to be real, and he missed the bus again to be a part of the Indian squad in the Tests.
Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.
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