'Shreyas Iyer not in India's T20I scheme of things': Dinesh Karthik's shocking revelation

Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has voiced strong support for Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion in India’s T20I setup, insisting that the middle-order batter has done everything possible to earn a place in the national squad.

“Look, Shreyas Iyer has done everything and more a player can do,” Karthik told India Today.

However the veteran wicketkeeper-batter acknowledged the tough choices before the current management under Gautam Gambhir.


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“But if you see the last 20 matches that India have played since Gambhir has taken over, 17 they have won. So as a coach, I’m assuming that he has certain players he’s looking at who have delivered results for him. If he has to make the hard choice of leaving certain players out, I can understand.”

Karthik admitted that selection debates are inevitable, particularly in formats where India haven’t been as dominant. “If you talk about the ODI team, then we can always say because the results probably haven’t matched how well they have done. Even though they won the Champions Trophy now, it’s different,” he explained.

“Even in Tests to a certain extent, if certain players who have done so well in domestic cricket miss out, then it makes for a case for conversation. But in T20, because they have done so well, I think it’s very hard to question why a certain player shouldn’t have been there.”


Still, Karthik was clear that Iyer’s credentials make him hard to ignore. “Shreyas Iyer has been probably one of those players who have gone back to domestic cricket, did whatever possible which is to help Mumbai win titles, came back for IPL. As a captain, he did phenomenally well and even better as a batter. And I don’t see anybody stopping him. It’s only a matter of time because with those performances, it’s hard to not have someone like that in the squad.”

The former India keeper-batter also praised Iyer’s character. “I’m a big fan of Shreyas Iyer because of the way he plays and the way he carries himself off the field with so much positive energy and the way he’s led his team. I believe that he would have taken it in his stride even though it would have been a bitter pill to swallow. I genuinely wish that he finds a place across formats, not just T20, very soon.”

Karthik was, however, disappointed to see Iyer left out of the standby list of the Asia Cup. “If that is what you’ve got after me saying all this, I think that would be a pretty unfair headline. After the squad was put, they also put five other standbys. Now in that five standbys, also Shreyas Iyer wasn’t there and that didn’t sit well with me. Which basically means they’re not looking at him for the near future. That would mean to the World Cup because India finished the Asia Cup, they have a couple of bilaterals and after which they have the World Cup. I feel it is very unfair.”

Summing up his stance, Karthik said: “There is no way that he shouldn’t have missed those five players. He should have been part of the conversations in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. And I really wish he makes it to the T20 World Cup because he deserves it.”

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