Shreyas Iyer was unlucky to miss out on the selection for the Asia Cup 2025 and his exclusion triggered a massive controversy in Indian cricket. The decision came out as a huge surprise despite star batter's recent impressive performances.

Iyer was not included in the 15-member squad and wasn't even named in the standbys for the multi-nation tournament which is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the T20I team whereas Shubman Gill made his return and has been named the new vice-captain for the Asia Cup.

The Men in Blue is going through a massive transition phase, specially in Tests and ODI formats. While the Test team showed a lot of promise during the England tour, challenges are big in the ODI format with the retirements of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being not too far from now.

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Gill's emergence in the T20I setup has cleared the intentions of selectors to establish the young batter as the upcoming leader of the team in the shortest format after his impressive performance as captain in the Test cricket. However, it is yet to be known who will replace Rohit Sharma as India's new ODI skipper but Shreyas Iyer looks like a perfect candidate for the all-important role.

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With Rohit already being 38, he might not make it to the 2027 ODI World Cup and per a few reports the BCCI selectors might think over elevating Shreyas as the new leader in the format.

While Shreyas has been going through remarkable form lately, let's take a look at a few reasons why he could be the best option for India's ODI captaincy

 

1. Captaincy experience

Shreyas has a commendable amount of captaincy experience under his belt and has achieved immense success in the role as well. He took Delhi Capitals (IPL 2020) and Punjab Kings (IPL 2025) to the finals as skipper, but his best achievement came during the IPL 2024 when he won the title with KKR.

His captaincy style and body language always seem well equipped to deal with the ptressure and the right-handed batter could do the same in the senior level as well.

 

2. Impactful batter in middle order

Shreyas Iyer has become an irremovable force in India's ODI team. He has been so consistent with his performances lately and remains a key player in the middle-order.

He was India's top run-getter in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which the Men in Blue won. Having represented the national team in 70 ODI matches so far, Iyer has scored 2845 runs at an average of 48 on the back of 22 fifties and five centuries.

He has the ability to dominate things in the middle overs, specially against the spin bowlers.

 

3. A captain for the future

The 30-year-old Shreyas has so much to offer as captain and he can serve for at least next 4-5 years in the role. Considering the 2027 ODI World Cup and 2029 Champions Trophy, Shreyas could be given the massive role anytime soon.