Shreyas Iyer walked back for 25 off 28 on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy 2025’s second semi-final between the West Zone and Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B in Bengaluru. Iyer was the fourth wicket to fall on the opening day of play.
Khaleel Ahmed’s around-the-wicket angle proved to be Iyer’s undoing, as his middle stump was disturbed as he inside-edged the ball to cut it. There was a considerable wait to see if Khaleel had overstepped, but it was eventually determined to be a lawful delivery.
Shreyas Iyer was Khaleel’s second wicket of the day, after the left-arm bowler dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for a three-ball four in the first over.
Jaiswal’s opening partner, Harvik Desai, collapsed a few overs later. Iyer had already hit four boundaries. However, he was unable to leverage on his early advantage.
Iyer’s last competitive match came with Punjab Kings in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), as he led them in the final of the tournament against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The PBKS skipper enjoyed a stellar season with the bat, amassing 604 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 175.07. It was almost assumed that Iyer, also coming on the back of several impressive innings for Mumbai in domestic cricket, would make it to India’s squad for the Asia Cup.
However, his name was nowhere to be found when the team was announced at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai. When asked by the media about Iyer’s non-selection, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that he will have to “wait for his chance”, prompting a huge stir on social media amongst the cricket community.
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