NEW DELHI: Former Australia wicketkeeper and Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin has described Shreyas Iyer‘s omission from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad as an “extraordinary choice”, admitting he was left baffled by the choice of the Indian selectors.Iyer, 30, was not included within the 15-member squad introduced by BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Tuesday, nor was he named among the many standbys. The exclusion of the in-form batter, who lately guided Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 ultimate, has despatched ripples throughout the cricketing fraternity.
Go Past The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Nicely, one, management qualities. Two, the model of participant he’s beneath stress, and he is somebody that everybody performs higher with when he is on the workforce. I had no concept. I first thought once I was studying it that he was injured, however he is not. So, it is a unusual choice for me as a result of he brings a lot to the sport. I truly thought he was going to be captain. Extraordinary choice,” Haddin stated on the Willow Discuss podcast.Iyer’s credentials in franchise cricket underline the shock. In IPL 2025, he amassed 604 runs at a strike price of 175.07, carrying Punjab Kings to solely their second-ever ultimate. Only a 12 months earlier, he had captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL crown.Even Australian cricketers exterior the choice circle have been startled. On the LiSTNR Sport podcast, Alyssa Healy’s on the spot response to the information was a shocked, “Oh my God!”, whereas host Adam Peacock quipped that it was “a Punjab conspiracy.”With India eyeing continental supremacy, the absence of Iyer, considered a big-match chief and confirmed performer, stays one of the vital debated calls forward of the Asia Cup.
India squad for Asia Cup 2025
- Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
- Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.





