NEW DELHI: Former Australia wicketkeeper and Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin has described Shreyas Iyer‘s omission from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad as an “extraordinary selection”, admitting he was left baffled by the decision of the Indian selectors.Iyer, 30, was not included in the 15-member squad announced by BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Tuesday, nor was he named among the standbys. The exclusion of the in-form batter, who recently guided Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final, has sent ripples across the cricketing fraternity.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Well, one, leadership qualities. Two, the style of player he is under pressure, and he’s someone that everyone plays better with when he’s on the team. I had no idea. I first thought when I was reading it that he was injured, but he’s not. So, it’s a strange decision for me because he brings so much to the game. I actually thought he was going to be captain. Extraordinary selection,” Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast.

Iyer’s credentials in franchise cricket underline the shock. In IPL 2025, he amassed 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07, carrying Punjab Kings to only their second-ever final. Just a year earlier, he had captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL crown.Even Australian cricketers outside the selection circle were startled. On the LiSTNR Sport podcast, Alyssa Healy’s instant reaction to the news was a stunned, “Oh my God!”, while host Adam Peacock quipped that it was “a Punjab conspiracy.”With India eyeing continental supremacy, the absence of Iyer, regarded as a big-match leader and proven performer, remains one of the most debated calls ahead of the Asia Cup.

India squad for Asia Cup 2025