Mohammed Kaif voiced his concerns about the decision to pick Sai Sudharsan over Shreyas Iyer for the England tour. India released the squad on May 24, introducing Sudharsan as a new addition. While players like Karun Nair made the cut, Shreyas was left out. The Mumbai batsman hasn’t played a Test since last year’s series against England and has been away from the longest format for quite a while. He’s been making waves in domestic cricket, scoring 480 runs in 5 matches during the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, which included a double hundred.
On his YouTube channel, Kaif pointed out that Sudharsan earned his spot after a strong IPL season, but Shreyas has been consistently performing for a longer time. He noted that the current PBKS captain did well during the 2023 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Kaif mentioned it seemed the selectors were focusing on Sudharsan’s IPL form for his selection but didn’t apply the same standard to Shreyas.
“Sudharsan is a fantastic player, there’s no denying that. But he got into the Test squad based on one good IPL season. Iyer has been scoring well for a while now, with around 550 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy. He’s also performing well for Punjab Kings, with 514 runs so far this season. It feels a bit off to judge one player by different standards,” Kaif said. While Sudharsan is seen as a bright talent in Indian cricket, his first-class stats aren’t as strong, whereas Shreyas has the numbers to prove he deserves another shot with the national team.
11:53
Download the CricInformer app
Take CricInformer with you. Get our app for cricket news and updates on your phone.