Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has expressed surprise after Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from the T20I team after the World Cup. India lifted their third T20 World Cup title after beating New Zealand by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Iyer wasn’t part of the World Cup’s planning despite his impressive white-ball record. The Mumbai batter was added to India’s T20I team for the first three games against New Zealand after Tilak Varma was ruled out with an injury.
However, Iyer was not named in the T20 World Cup squad. Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches of IPL 2025 at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07 while leading the Punjab Kings.
Ganguly praised the team’s depth after the World Cup success in home conditions. The Prince of Kolkata said India can easily make another T20I team.
Sourav Ganguly said on RevSportz, “If Bumrah remains fit, with Virat [Kohli] and Rohit [Sharma], India can make another team. The T20 team that played in the World Cup, then there is Virat, Rohit, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal who does not get a game, Vaibhav Suryavanshi who would play in any team in the world, Shreyas Iyer who does not get a T20 game – I am absolutely flabbergasted about him not getting a spot in white-ball cricket.”
“Then Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep, who again does not get a game. So overall, I feel India could have another T20 side and still be an international team.”
On the other hand, Ganguly said head coach Gautam Gambhir is rough around the edges but he is a competitor.
“He may be rough around the edges, but he is a competitor. He does not need to be rough because he is a good man. I have seen him. I have played with him for India. He wants to win. He says the right things about his team and tries to create an environment of team over individuals,” said Ganguly (via the aforementioned source).
“He is the winner of a T20 World Cup and a Champions Trophy. He is a tremendous T20 coach. He has got to get better in Test matches. And most importantly, play on good wickets.”
India would look to continue their rich form.
