Rohit Sharma explains Shreyas Iyer’s omission from T20 World Cup 2022

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is set to begin on February 07. The showpiece event will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. For this tournament, Rohit Sharma became the brand Ambassador. Under his captaincy, India won the previous edition of this event, the T20 World Cup 2024. Recently, Rohit Sharma recalled his first ICC event as captain, the T20 World Cup 2022. He also spoke about the difficulties & challenges that a captain faced before any ICC tournament, especially during the players' selection.

He mentioned the T20 World Cup 2022, where Shreyas Iyer was not included in the World Cup squad. For this tournament, India team management picked Deepak Hooda over Shreyas Iyer. However, during a conversation, Rohit revealed that he and then-coach Rahul Dravid already told Shreyas about his omission months in advance in the West Indies.

“There have been many such instances of taking hard calls before World Cups. I think of Shreyas Iyer during the 2022 T20 World Cup. I still remember that we were playing in the West Indies. Rahul bhai and I always felt that if you are taking such calls, it is important for the individual to know why you are doing it," Rohit said.

"I remember we called Shreyas near the pool, and Rahul bhai and I both spoke to him about why he was not going to be part of that Asia Cup, followed by the T20 World Cup that was going to take place. We had to explain the reasoning to him,” he added.

Rohit also explained that Deepak Hooda was chosen over Iyer because the management needed players with a variety of skills. In this World Cup, Deepak Hooda played only one game, where he got out on a duck. 

“I remember we took Deepak Hooda then, and that was the only spot we had available. We felt we needed someone who could give us a little more with the ball, because in our top five or six, there were not many players who could bowl. So we wanted players with those multi-skills, and that is why we had to go with Hooda. He was in good form before that Asia Cup and World Cup, and based on the form he showed in the IPL and the way he was batting, I felt he could fit into our plans," said Rohit.

"Shreyas would have felt bad, Deepak would have been happy, but that is how it works. If someone else takes Deepak’s place in the future, then he would feel bad as well. As long as you have a valid reason and you explain it properly, that is fine,” he added.

Furthermore, Rohit spoke about the importance of good communication between a captain and a player. This empowers everyone with the clarity they deserve. Rohit Sharma has already retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup 2024. 

“For us, it is important to understand how we can make the best use of the 15 players in our squad. We had to leave someone out in the 2023 World Cup, we had to keep someone out in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and we had to do the same in the Champions Trophy as well. Siraj was not part of the 2025 Champions Trophy, so I had a conversation with him and explained the situation to him,” said Rohit.

"I also spoke to Yuzvendra Chahal when he was not part of the 2023 World Cup. There were several players like this, and we spoke to all of them. I feel it is always good to have a conversation. You will not be able to please everyone, but you try your best to help everyone understand the reasoning behind the decisions,” he added.