Picture Credit: X
Star Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has been in news since his omission from Team India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. While the middle-order batter has proven his prowess in the white-ball format, a shocking report has revealed details which could have resulted in his absence from the upcoming marquee tournament. As per reports quoting the Times of India (TOI), Iyer reportedly turned down the captaincy for West Zone.
If reports are to be believed, Iyer made himself available for the domestic cricket tournament, but only agreed to play as a player. It is being reported that Iyer turned down the offer to lead the side in the upcoming tournament, which is scheduled to be played from August 28 at the Bord of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Shreyas Iyer turned down the captaincy to lead West Zone in Duleep Trophy
A source close the development informed TOI while adding that thus Shardul Thakur was approached to lead the side and he agreed upon the same. “Yes, it’s true Iyer turned down the offer from the West Zone selection committee to captain the team. After that, the Chairman of the committee, Sanjay Patil, who is also the Mumbai Chief Selector, approached Thakur to lead West Zone, an opportunity that Thakur gladly accepted,” the source said.
The reports also claim that as Iyer was expecting an Asia Cup call-up, and had begun his white-ball training with personal coach Pravin Amre at the MCA indoor facility, and thus turned down the offer to lead the West Zone. It is to be noted that Iyer’s snub from the upcoming T20 tournament became a talking point despite the cricketer boosting of key numbers.
West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025
Shardul Thakur (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Saurabh Nawale, Harvik Desai (wk), Aarya Dessain, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
