Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup omission is weird: AB de Villiers hints at off-field factors

South African batting great AB de Villiers has questioned the omission of Shreyas Iyer from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad, describing the decision as "weird" and suggesting that non-cricketing factors may have influenced the selectors' thinking.

Shreyas Iyer, who led Punjab Kings to the IPL final and scored over 600 runs at a strike rate above 170, was left out of the 15-member Indian squad announced earlier this week. The decision has raised eyebrows across the cricketing world, with fans and pundits expressing surprise.

"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," de Villiers said during a live chat with fans on X (formerly Twitter).

Iyer's T20I record includes 51 appearances for India, in which he has scored 1,104 runs at an average of 30.66 and a strike rate of 136.12. Despite his form and leadership credentials-having also taken Delhi Capitals to the IPL final in 2020-he has not played for India in the shortest format since December 2023.

De Villiers praised Iyer's maturity and leadership, but hinted that there might be factors behind the scenes that the public and even the player himself may not be aware of.

"He's matured a lot. He has shown a lot of leadership qualities, but who knows what is going on behind closed doors? No one. Not me. Not you guys.

Maybe not even Shreyas knows. But there might be a few things that have taken place over the years that have determined why he'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."

Drawing on his own experience as a captain, the former Proteas skipper elaborated on how off-field behaviour and influence in the dressing room can sometimes tip the scales in close selection calls.

"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.

"When it's 50-50 on the field, you have to start looking at other areas, like does he add value in the team room? Does he have a smile on his face? Does he uplift some of the other players around him? Or is he sort of draining energy from the squad? Maybe it has something to do with that.

"I'm just honestly taking a complete guess. Of course, it is weird to me, a quality player like that, not making the starting squad for Team India, especially with the leadership qualities he's bringing. Maybe it will be too much of a clash with him there."

De Villiers also speculated that Iyer's absence might be due to the abundance of strong leadership figures in the Indian side.

"Maybe there are too many leaders there, too many captains. I have no idea, to be honest. I was just trying to explain to you what I would think. If there's a 50-50 call, you would always lean towards the guy that you feel will bring the best out in other players.

"So, a team player kind of call. That's my best guess. I'm not saying it's true. Make up your own mind. Actually, ask more questions about it and let me know what you think.

"Maybe the truth will come out one day, and we'll know exactly why Shreyas is struggling to get into Team India starting line-ups or squads at least."