Ought to BCCI recall Shreyas Iyer for Asia Cup 2025?

26 to 32 – that’s often considered the prime age of batters in cricket. It’s considered a period when the mind aligns with the body. Before that, most cricketers aren’t developed either physically or mentally. After that, the body starts to give way. Despite advancements in health and fitness, this remains largely correct.

Shreyas Iyer falls in this bracket. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, we saw the 2.0 version of Shreyas, the T20 batter. He had never touched the 140-strike rate mark in the 8 prior seasons. The progress was great. He led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their second IPL trophy after 10 years.

Shreyas Iyer 3.0 in T20s

He came down the order, showing versatility. All this was good, but was it enough? The answer was no. But Shreyas wasn’t done. His evolution wasn’t complete. Come the IPL 2025 season, he joined a new team. Before leading the Punjab Kings (PBKS), Shreyas had been tearing it apart in the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was exceptional in the 2025 Champions Trophy as well.

Shreyas worked with Pravin Amre to change his stance, and that changed it all for him. We saw how his weakness against the short ball wasn’t as evident as before. He was one of the best batters against spin, and that didn’t change, but his prowess against pace did.

In the IPL 2025 season, Shreyas was one of six batters to score 600 runs. But that wasn’t the shocking bit. Among all the top 10 scorers, Shreyas had the highest strike rate. To score 604 runs at 50.33 and a strike at 175.07 is beyond words.

He played one of the best knocks of the season against the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2. PBKS were 55/2 when Shreyas walked in, and they chased the 204-run target with one over to spare. Shreyas scored an unbeaten 87 from just 41 balls. A clutch knock if there ever was.

The 30-year-old has never played better. He was always a spin specialist, but Shreyas destroyed the fast bowlers. No line or length disturbed him. Batting in the powerplay, middle, or death didn’t matter. He didn’t score faster against spinners, but didn’t get out either. While against fast pacers, Shreyas took more risks, perhaps to demonstrate how much he’s improved.

Shreyas Iyer stats by bowling type in IPL 2025

Asia Cup, right for T20I comeback

Now seems the right time to bring Shreyas back into T20Is. He hasn’t played a match for India in the format since December 2023. But that Shreyas is long gone. He’s upgraded himself multiple times. We saw that Shreyas was India’s best batter in Dubai in the Champions Trophy on pitches that were slow and spinning.

The Asia Cup 2025 will be held in the UAE, and similar surfaces will be rolled out. Bringing him back makes sense. However, the biggest issue for Shreyas’ return will be finding a spot. He was batting at number three in IPL 2025, but that spot isn’t available.

Even number four seems difficult. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma are the regulars at these spots. The former is perhaps India’s best-ever T20I batter, while the latter has 2 hundreds at three in just 13 matches. Number five might be one of the spots that’s open at the moment, but will that be too low for him?

Considering how much spin will be used, especially by teams like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, that spot might be good for Shreyas. Also, he had an exceptional record in the middle and death overs in IPL 2025. In fact, he only got better as the match went on when it came to his striking ability.

The BCCI might decide to continue with those who were part of the team against England earlier in the year, but ideally, Shreyas should be selected for the Asia Cup. He’s done enough to warrant a spot, as he can bat at any position from 1 to 5.

Shreyas Iyer stats by phase in IPL 2025