The vice-captain of India’s ODI squad, Shreyas Iyer, is back in the T20I picture of India as the selectors have included him in the team for the upcoming home series against New Zealand. Iyer will take Tilak Varma’s spot in the squad and will be available for the first three matches of the series on January 21, 23, and 25.
The call-up is a timely return for Iyer who has been on the edge of the shortest format during the past few months. Just weeks before the T20 World Cup, his inclusion happens with less than a month left for the marquee event. Given the fact that injuries and form concerns are always a possibility at major tournaments, the selectors seem to be eager to have experienced options ready, should the need arise.
This is Iyer’s first T20I call-up after the 2023 home series against Australia. He got dropped just before the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was a decision that was a setback at the time. However, the Mumbai batter has since then pulled off an impressive comeback in the shortest format.
Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024, and this was followed by yet another successful leadership period, taking Punjab Kings to the final in the 2025 season. Personally, he also had a great season, scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175, which put him among the best players of the tournament.
His comeback to the national team after a lengthy injury break has been a mixed bag so far. Iyer had a below-par ODI series against New Zealand, scoring only 60 runs in three games, which included single-digit scores of 8 and 3 in the last two matches. Despite the numbers being disappointing, the main focus remains on his form in T20 cricket, which he seems to have found his best rhythm again.
Fierce Compitition in Team India’s T 20Is
Shreyas Iyer was a constant in India’s white-ball strategy for the 2024 T20 World Cup, and his place in the team was more or less confirmed. A year later, the scenario is completely different now. The quality of players in Indian cricket has reached a point where they are going from good to excellent, and thus they are going to have lesser and tougher slots. Hence, the calls for selection are tougher than ever before.
The T20 India has especially reached a new level since their World Cup win. The team went on to win every bilateral series after the title in 2024, and the management has been rotating players and testing combinations. The consistent results are a reflection of their not only dominance but also the healthy competition within the squad where every opportunity has to be seized and every performance must be supported.
TILAK VARMA INJURY keeps the door open
Tilak Varma’s injury has given a little but very important opening in the form of opportunity. In case he does not get well in time for the T20 World Cup, India will have to find a trusty number three in their playing XI. This is where Shreyas Iyer gets into the picture. If he runs his IPL form into the coming three-match T20I series against New Zealand, he can be a strong contestant for that role.
Abhishek Sharma is very much probable to keep his position at the top of the order. Since Shubman Gill will not be in the Indian T20 World Cup squad, Sanju Samson is supposed to be the second opener along with Abhishek. Tilak had the number three position while the captain Suryakumar Yadav had the No.4 in most matches. Now, with Iyer in place of Tilak in the squad, the Punjab Kings captain is likely to bat at one-down, thereby giving India a veteran option in a critical position.
Sublime Run in IPL 2025
Iyer is a more reliable batsman from a pure batting perspective than Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, or Rinku Singh. No longer does pace bowling trouble him, and he is equally fierce on spin. He possesses an extensive array of strokes. His game is more versatile. He can switch between a hard-hitter, a finisher, a run-getter, or a steady accumulator depending on the situation. He is also a dependable batsman in any order and enjoys being in the middle of the action under pressure, where he brings calm and leadership to the middle order.
However, it should be mentioned that Iyer was not included in India’s T20I plans for the whole 2025 season despite being a remarkable performer in the IPL. The player was able to hit over 600 runs with a strike rate of 175.07, thus taking third place for the best strike rate for a batter in a season over 600 runs, right after Chris Gayle in 2011 and Suryakumar Yadav in 2023. His power over spin has become very apparent and has particularly marked his significance in the mid-phase of the innings.
He had the best IPL season of his life as per the statistics. He achieved new personal records in terms of runs scored with 604, average of 50.33, and strike rate of 175, besides six half-centuries, 43 fours, and 39 sixes. What is more, it was not so much the numbers that spoke for him but the very clarity of his batting that had become his trademark, his ability to read the situation right, simplify the chase, and still be aggressive without losing control.
His mentor from the Indian A team Rahul Dravid once gave an accurate description of Iyer’s mentality. “One of the things that really stood out about him from the India A days is his temperament, the way he handles success and failure. You just look at even some of his knocks under pressure, how he’s able to actually bring the best out of himself under those pressure situations,” Dravid had said.