Gambhir dodges questions on Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion from England tour squad

Head coach Gautam Gambhir remained tight-lipped on Wednesday when questioned about the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer from India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against England. Despite Iyer’s excellent form and having led Punjab Kings to the IPL playoffs, his name was conspicuously absent from the 18-member Indian squad set to tour England.

The five-Test series, beginning June 20 at Headingley in Leeds, will see Shubman Gill captain the side, with Rishabh Pant named as the vice-captain. The decision to omit Iyer raised several eyebrows, but Gambhir, when asked about it, offered no insight. “I am not a selector,” he said curtly, brushing off the question.

While he avoided the topic of team selection, Gambhir had high praise for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a recent initiative involving the armed forces. The BCCI has invited the chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force to attend the IPL final.

“We normally criticise the BCCI a lot on a lot of things, but this is something which is unbelievable. BCCI has taken an initiative from the point of view that the entire nation is one and the entire nation has to salute the armed forces for what they do unconditionally,” he said.

“So I feel that with the BCCI taking such an initiative we have got to give a lot of credit to the BCCI and more importantly to our armed forces who have been unconditionally helping and saving us and protecting us,” Gambhir added, echoing the sentiment that the move transcends sports.

The chiefs invited include General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of Army Staff; Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, the Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, the Chief of Air Staff. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that not only have the top officers been invited, but so have several high-ranking personnel and soldiers. The gesture is intended to honour and celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor.

Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the heinous Pahalgam terror attack that took place on April 22, where 26 individuals, many of them tourists, lost their lives at the hands of Pakistan-backed terrorists in the popular Jammu and Kashmir destination.

(With PTI inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day