Asia Cup 2025: Shreyas Iyer Lost Out On Spot Perhaps Due To Team Management's Left-Right Strategy At Top Four

Shreyas Iyer would feel hard done on missing out on the plane to the UAE for the Asia Cup but it seems India's reservoir of talent and the team management's decision to persist with Tilak Varma would be possible reasons for Iyer's omission from the 15-member squad.

The star India ODI batter and Mumbaikar was on a purple patch in this year's IPL where he smashed 604 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 175 plus and an average of 50.33.

With his penchant for milking the spinners on slow UAE tracks and the effortless ability to go big and ballistic when required, Iyer was definitely in contention to make it to the squad.

What may have tilted the scales in Tilak Varma's favour is perhaps two things.

The selection of Shubman Gill, which was more or less on expected lines, ensures there will be a left hand-right hand opening combination with the flamboyant Abhishek Sharma occupying crease at the other end.

With skipper Suryakumar Yadav likely to bat at No 3 or even Sanju Samson, Varma will complete the two left-hand and two right-hand batters line-up in the top four.

If Samson does the wicket-keeping duties and bats at No 3, it provides India with more room for manoeuvreability in the lower order to accomodate a power-hitter.

India currently have overwhelming batting riches at their disposal from numbers one to perhaps even eight, where the inclusion of Harshit Rana is precisely to prop up the six-hitting ability at No 8.

The inclusion of Harshit also helps India in operating with two spinners, the 'Chinaman' Kuldeep Yadav and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy in tandem just like they did at the Champions Trophy earlier this year.

Jasprit Bumrah, Rana and Hardik Pandya will form the fulcrum of the pace attack in that scenario unless India decide to go with two specialist pacers in which case Arshdeep would come into the picture.

Team India have a fairly well balanced squad with almost all bases covered with explosive batting potential at its very core and tremendous spin bowling depth apart from world-class pacers.