Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif lashed out at Indian selectors for leaving out Shreyas Iyer from the India squad for the five-match Test series against England. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired, the selectors opted for Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair in the squad. Sudharsan was rewarded for his stellar run in IPL 2025, where he scored over 600 runs for the Gujarat Titans. Nair, meanwhile, performed well in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Kaif questioned the selectors' criteria for selection and said that Sudharsan was picked based on his IPL performance, but they did not select Iyer, who has delivered remarkable performances for India in the past. Notably, Iyer scored 480 runs at an average of 68.57 in seven innings in the Ranji Trophy 2024-2025, and was also instrumental in India's win in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scoring 243 runs - the most by an Indian batter. Iyer has scored over 500 runs in the ongoing IPL and helped Punjab Kings qualify for the playoffs after 11 years.

"Sai Sudharsan is a brilliant player, no doubt. But he was picked in the Test squad after a good IPL season (679 runs and counting). Iyer, meanwhile, has been doing well for so long. He scored some 550 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup and in the Champions Trophy as well. He is still doing a terrific job with the bat for Punjab Kings – 514 runs and counting. He is captaining too. So on one hand, you are considering white-ball criteria for one player and not for the other," said Kaif on his YouTube channel.

Earlier, chief selector Ajit Agarkar acknowledged Iyer's decent run in domestic cricket, but said that there was no place for him in the Test team for the time being. “Yes, Shreyas Iyer has played well in domestic cricket, but at the moment, there is no room for him in the Test Team.”

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