"Who knows what is going on behind closed doors?": AB de Villiers reacts to Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup snub
Suryakumar Yadav is set to lead the India squad at Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE. Shubman Gill will return to T20Is after almost a year, and the youngster will join the tournament as India's vice-captain. However, the spotlight still falls on Shreyas Iyer as the most prominent name in the headlines ever since the India squad for Asia Cup 2025 was announced. While the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravi Bishnoi were left out, the blatant ignorance of Iyer has irked the fans and fraternity the most. Now, as speculations surrounding Iyer's spot intensify, former RCB star AB de Villiers has reacted to the debacle.
AB de Villiers talks about Shreyas Iyer's omission from India squad for Asia Cup 2025
Shreyas Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title. The middle-order batter then played an elemental role in India's ICC Champions Trophy triumph. Upon his return to the IPL for the next season, the Mumbai cricketer led Punjab Kings to their first IPL final in over a decade. Iyer wrapped up IPL 2025 with over 600 runs to his credit and a starring performance against Mumbai Indians in the crucial playoffs fixture. However, all of these recent achievements, even collectively, did not add up to guarantee a spot in the India T20I squad.
As the BCCI announced the India squad for Asia Cup 2025, Iyer's name was glaringly missing from the list. The omission of Iyer led to widespread scrutiny for BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir. While Gambhir was not a part of the press conference, Agarkar reflected on Iyer's absence after the squad announcement. The chief selector explained that it was not Iyer's fault, but the India squad for Asia Cup 2025 simply did not have a spot for the IPL 2024 champion.
Agarkar's explanation has not sat well with the masses. Now, former South African star AB de Villiers has also spoken up. The 360-degree player lauded the caliber of Shreyas Iyer before hinting at a deeper issue with the recent omission. The ex-RCB player talked about "behind-the-scenes" proceedings that could have hit Iyer's selection case for the upcoming tournament.
“It is tough, guys. I was just going through the squad. I was thinking, where can we fit Shreyas in, because I've seen all the headlines and some fans being upset. I think Shreyas will be the most upset because he's played some really good cricket over the last few years. He's matured a lot. He showed a lot of leadership qualities, but who knows what is going on behind closed doors? No one. Not me. Not you guys,” de Villiers said.
“Maybe not even Shreyas knows. But there might be a few things that have taken place over the years that have determined why it's not the flavour of the month for a certain tournament. He's a quality player. He'll be in my team more often than not. But sometimes, and I'm not talking about Shreyas now, but sometimes thinking about when I was captaining, if there's a 50-50 call between two players, I would always lean towards the guy that I feel offers more from a team perspective off the field,” he added.
