Key Points

Iyer, who led Punjab Kings (PBKS) to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) finals in a decade with his fiery leadership and batting, was one of the notable omissions from the Asia Cup squad, a move which has attracted plenty of criticism from fans and ex-cricketers alike.

Speaking on his social media handle, Instagram, Manjrekar said, "Shreyas Iyer not making India's T20 squad for the Asia Cup is just shocking. This is a guy who was left out of the Indian team for the right reason because they felt he wasn't committing himself as much to domestic cricket. But it had the desired effect on Shreyas Iyer: when he came back again in the England at-home ODI series, the way he batted, you could see that he was just batting like he had never batted before."

"He didn't put a foot wrong in that comeback series and then carried that form into IPL cricket. I don't think any batter has had that kind of form throughout the IPL season, with the average over 50, strike rate over 170, and being the game-changer in the side with the bat. And he gets rewarded with non-selection," he added.

Iyer was India's highest run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in the Champions Trophy 2025, with 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60, with two fifties and a best score of 79, contributing massively to India's second successive white-ball title win.

Iyer ended up as the sixth-highest run-getter in the recently concluded IPL 2025 and had his best season, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*.

Since the last T20 World Cup win, the Mumbai batter has played 26 T20 matches and scored 949 runs, with an average of 49.94, at a strike rate of 179.73, and a century and seven fifties. His best score is 130 not out. His last T20I for India saw him score a half-century for India, way back in late 2023, after the 50-over World Cup at home.

- ANI