Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has come out strongly in support of Shreyas Iyer after the Mumbai batter was left out of India’s Asia Cup T20 squad, calling the omission “shocking” and “devoid of cricketing logic.”

Iyer, 30, has been in red-hot form in white-ball cricket. After an impressive run in the Champions Trophy, he lit up the IPL with Punjab Kings, smashing over 600 runs at a strike rate of more than 170 and playing a key role in taking the franchise to its first final in 11 years.

Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar acknowledged that Iyer hadn't done anything wrong but justified the decision by saying the selection panel had a “good headache” due to the abundance of options. He added that Shubman Gill was retained due to his leadership role during the Sri Lanka T20Is in July 2024 and because he’s now available for T20s again.

But Manjrekar isn’t convinced.

In a video posted on Instagram, the former India batter didn’t hold back, questioning the logic behind selecting players for T20s based on Test performances. His criticism was aimed at Gill, who hasn’t played a T20I since July but had an outstanding Test series against England earlier this year, where he scored 754 runs across five matches in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

“This has been a pattern with Indian selectors — picking a player in one format based on performances in another,” said Manjrekar. “It makes no cricketing sense. Rewarding a Test performer with a T20 spot, especially when someone like Shreyas has done everything right in the shortest format, is just baffling.”

Manjrekar noted that Iyer had previously been dropped for valid reasons — mainly a lack of commitment to domestic cricket — but highlighted the batter’s transformation since then.

“When he came back in the ODI series against England, he looked like a different player. And then in the IPL, he was one of the most impactful batters — averaging over 50, striking at over 170, and consistently winning games,” Manjrekar added. “And he gets rewarded with non-selection? That’s just not right.”

While the selectors cited Gill’s vice-captaincy role during the Sri Lanka series, Manjrekar pointed out that Gill hadn't featured in a T20I since due to workload management for Tests and ODIs, not because of form or T20 impact.

“I don’t think any batter had a better IPL season than Iyer. To leave him out in favour of someone who’s excelled in a completely different format — it’s unfair. I think Iyer has been seriously wronged by the selectors,” he said.

Iyer last played a T20I for India in December 2023 against Australia. Since then, despite strong performances in domestic T20 tournaments like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL, he hasn’t been considered for T20 internationals — something Manjrekar believes is a significant oversight.