Gautam Gambhir, India’s head coach, skillfully avoided answering a tricky question regarding why Shreyas Iyer had not been included for the upcoming five-Test series in England beginning next month. On Saturday, the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for the tour. Shubman Gill is likely to be Test captain, with Rishabh Pant as the deputy.
Despite a host of fresh faces in the squad who have never played Test cricket, including Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Arshdeep Singh, the absence of some seasoned players like Iyer and Mohammed Shami did cause a few raised eyebrows. Iyer has been appearing in good form lately and is considered a good leader, too. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from Test cricket this month, Iyer could have been a strengthening element in the team for Gill, who only took up captaincy for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL last year.
When the question of Iyer’s omission came up, Gambhir said, “I am not a selector.”
Earlier, Agarkar had explained how, despite Iyer performing well in ODIs and the domestic circuit, there is no place for him, at least for now, in Test cricket. Iyer has appeared in 14 Tests since his debut against New Zealand in November 2021, with his last Test outing being his 13th against England, in the second Test last February. He was then dropped for the remaining Tests after having scored 104 runs in his first few matches.
