New Delhi, Aug 19: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Shreyas Iyer should be part of India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE. He has highlighted Iyer’s performance in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where India won the title. Chopra pointed out that the Mumbai batter played a vital role in the middle overs and often shifted the pressure away from his partners.The tournament will be played from September 9 to 28, and the selectors are set to name the squad on Tuesday, August 19. Iyer has been in sublime form with the bat and is a strong contender to earn his spot in the named squad.
“Shreyas Iyer needs to be spoken about because when we were watching the Champions Trophy, no Indian player was better than him in the middle overs. He was the guy who was taking the attack to the opposition. He was the guy who was hitting boundaries whenever he wished, and removing the pressure on the batter at the other end,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also pointed to Iyer’s form in the IPL 2025, where he captained eventual runners-up Punjab Kings and enjoyed his best season in the league. It was after 2014 that the Punjab Kings could reach the playoffs. Iyer played a key role in helping the team win Qualifier 2 with a match-winning 87 not out.
After that came the IPL. There were plenty of pressures. This was Shreyas Iyer’s best-ever IPL season. We have repeatedly seen that T20 selections are based on IPL performances. We have seen that with Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and everyone. If we see it from that token, Shreyas Iyer deserves to play, he noted.
The 30-year-old has scored 1104 runs at a strike rate of 136.12 in 47 T20I innings, making him the fifth-highest run-getter among active Indian players in the format.