'No Indian player better than Shreyas Iyer...': Ajit Agarkar, Gautam Gambhir sent strong message

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has shared his bold views on the star batsman Shreyas Iyer ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 squad selection.

Aakash Chopra said that Shreyas Iyer is a worthy candidate for a place in the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025 because he was sensational with the bat in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and IPL 2025.

Shreyas Iyer's numbers in CT & IPL 2025

Iyer was in the fire in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 while captaining the tournament's biggest underachievers - Punjab Kings (PBKS).

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In his first stint as captain with the Punjab Kings, Shreyas Iyer made the team a dominating force, and they made it to their first final in the IPL after a decade.

The credit for the stellar performances was given to their 'Sarpanch', who led from the very front with his exceptional knocks with the bat.

He displayed an attacking brand of cricket and finished the season with 604 runs in his bag at an amazing average of 50.33 and an excellent strike rate of 175.07.

Before IPL 2025, Iyer participated in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and played a key role in India's victory, finishing as the team's leading run-getter. In 5 innings, he scored 243 runs at an average of 48.6 and a strike rate of 79.41.

If we see it from that token, Shreyas Iyer deserves to play - Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that Iyer deserves a place in India's Asia Cup 2025 squad because he was India's best batter in the middle overs in the Champions Trophy and carried his form in IPL.

"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.

"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," Aakash Chopra said.

Iyer backed to replace Tilak Varma in India's playing XI

Aakash Chopra further said that Iyer can be slotted at the No.3 position in India's T20I playing XI, replacing Tilak Varma, but admitted that it would be unfair on the young Mumbai Indians (MI) batsman.

"We have built a case that Shreyas' name should be there, but the truth is that Tilak Varma is playing either at No. 3 or No. 4. Since he has started playing at No. 3, he has been unstoppable. Since he bats lower down the order in the IPL, it's an apple vs orange comparison. If you see his numbers, you feel the guy hasn't done anything wrong.

"He also allows us one more thing. You can maintain a left-right combination. Will you drop Tilak Varma from the XI because I believe Shreyas Iyer's best place to bat is either No. 3 or No. 4? If he goes to No. 5, I think it will be a little too low in T20 cricket, and Surya is at No. 4," Aakash Chopra said.

Iyer last played a T20I game for India against Australia in December 2023 at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

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