Iyer unlucky to miss out, says Dahiya

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Former wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya feels Shreyas Iyer was unlucky to be left out of India's Asia Cup squad but said some players will always miss out due to the robust bench strength in the country.

Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024, and Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to make the cut in India's 15-member Asia Cup squad announced by the BCCI recently, a decision that was criticised by many former players.

Iyer had a tremendous IPL 2025 season in which he scored more than 600 runs at a strike rate of 175 and led Punjab Kings to only their second final of the cash-rich league.

"Once the team is picked, we cannot say much about it. Whenever any Indian team is picked, some players will always miss out. The bench strength we have, we can field two separate teams but some players will always be left out," Dahiya told PTI Videos. "But nothing much can be changed now, as he is not even part of the reserves as well.

"But yes, the way he has performed has made everyone think that he is missing." The Asia Cup will be played in T20 format starting September 9 in the UAE.

Iyer, who has played 51 T20Is for India, has scored 1104 runs at an average of 30.66 and a strike rate of 136.12. His last appearance in the format came against Australia in December 2023.

The Mumbai batter also has a strong leadership record in the IPL, guiding Delhi Capitals to the playoffs in 2019 and to their maiden final in 2020, before steering KKR to the title last year.

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, however, made his return to India's white-ball setup for the first time since the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Bumrah, who has only featured in Test cricket since last year's T20 World Cup final, was rested from limited-overs assignments and also missed the ICC Champions Trophy due to injury.

While he welcomed Bumrah's inclusion, Dahiya feels the pacer might not feature in all Asia Cup matches to manage his workload. He played three of the five Tests in India's recent tour of England which ended in a 2-2 draw.

"I feel that there will be many such matches where he (Bumrah) might not play and feature only in those crunch matches, and we can manage his workload there," noted Dahiya, who is currently the head coach of Delhi Premier League's Purani Dilli 6 franchise.

Mohammed Siraj also didn't find a place in the Asia Cup squad but Dahiya feels the pacer was left out to manage his workload after a gruelling tour of England.

"When you talk about the workload, then it's not only for Bumrah, it is also for Siraj. He played all five Tests and the intensity with which he bowled was commendable. The effort and quality of fast bowling he displayed in England also could be the reason for his break," he said.

Talking about India's prospects in the Asia Cup, Dahiya said the defending champions will start as clear favourites.

"There is not much threat in the Asia Cup for India but T20 is a format that changes quickly. India will lose only if we have a bad day or someone plays exceptional cricket." PTI HS SSC SSC