Never too late, Shreyas Iyer included for T20 internationals

It’s never too late. Shreyas Iyer being drafted into the T20 national squad for the first three matches against New Zealand after an injury to Washington Sundar comes as good news. For years, it has been an enigma why Shreyas was never a part of the T20 national side, even as many other players got chances galore.

As one of the best white-ball players in both formats, T20 and ODIs, Shreyas should have been an obvious choice. Perhaps, the selection committee of the BCCI, in its wisdom, will never provide answers to this conundrum.

Shreyas and his performance in the most prominent T20 format has to be the Indian Premier League. He has been a consistent performer with the bat and also as a fielder. Somehow, he has faced fitness woes and also bad luck, from his days for the Delhi franchise.

Once Shreyas shone for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 edition of the IPL as captain and led them to the title, it became even more clear, he was definitely one player who should have walked into the national T20 side. That did not happen.

When the IPL auction took place for the 2025 edition of the IPL, Shreyas had decided to move on from KKR. Sure enough, he was a hot pick for Punjab Kings at Rs 26.75 crores. That he led the side to the IPL final as well last year was creditable. Strangely, he was never a favourite of the selectors, more so with Gautam Gambhir taking over as coach.

Finally, the time has come when Shreyas has been picked for three T20 internationals. To say these matches are important for him would be stating the obvious. There is huge uncertainty over a few players who have got injured in the last fortnight, including Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar.

As someone who has been perpetually on trial, Shreyas is aware he has to grab the chances and score in these three T20 internationals if he is present his case for selection in the national team for the ICC T20 World Cup, as a replacewent. It starts next month in India against the backdrop of injuries as well as worry over form of a few players, captain Suryakumar Yadav included.

To say that Shreyas is lucky this time would be uncharitable. If he makes it count, it will be good for the Mumbaikar as well as the national side. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, he could well have been even the leader for India in T20 format. At present, he is vice-captain of the ODI national side.