Monty Panesar supports BCCI's decision of excluding Shreyas Iyer from Test squad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently unveiled the squad for the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England, sparking widespread debate over one notable omission, Shreyas Iyer. Despite a rich vein of form in white-ball cricket and a starring role in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy triumph, the middle-order batter found no place in the red-ball setup. While fans and former cricketers have expressed disappointment, former England spinner Monty Panesar has thrown his weight behind the selectors, offering a technical critique of Iyer's red-ball game.

India is undergoing a significant generational shift in Test cricket. With stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Rohit Sharma stepping away from the format, the team is now being rebuilt under the leadership of young Shubman Gill. The fresh squad includes several new faces, signalling a clear intention to shape a team for the future.

However, the decision to exclude Shreyas Iyer — a player who has not only shown temperament in pressure situations but also finished as India's second-highest run-scorer in their recent Champions Trophy campaign left many puzzled. The Mumbai batter's aggressive yet calculated style has won accolades in the shorter formats, and his supporters had hoped that he would be given an extended run in the longer version of the game.

Monty Panesar: Swing conditions expose Iyer’s technical gaps

Monty Panesar, speaking to the Hindustan Times, explained that Iyer’s exclusion makes sense in the context of the English conditions, where the ball tends to swing and seam far more than on subcontinental pitches. According to Panesar, Iyer's technique is currently not suited to the demands of Test cricket in England.

“Shreyas Iyer has a very good technique against flat tracks and bouncy pitches,” said Panesar. “But in swinging conditions, his hands are a bit hard. He doesn’t quite have the soft touch to play the moving ball late. That’s essential in England, seeing the swing early and playing it as late as possible.”

Panesar's analysis highlights a fundamental flaw that has troubled many subcontinent batters in England: the tendency to go hard at the ball, which can prove costly when facing high-quality seam and swing bowling.

The former left-arm spinner didn’t stop at critique, he offered a solution. Panesar believes Iyer needs to prove himself in the crucible of county cricket if he hopes to make a serious return to the Indian Test side.

“If he’s serious about Test cricket, he has to commit to a full season of county cricket. That’s where he can really fine-tune his game against the swinging and seaming ball,” Panesar said. “Only then will he be able to show selectors that he’s ready for the demands of Test cricket in conditions like England.”