Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has given an honest opinion questioning the depth of the Indian T20 team. He also said that India could have an alternative T20I squad, which could also include players like Shreyas Iyer, who was not in the T20 World Cup squad, and is still competitive at the international level.
India won the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, becoming the first team to win consecutive T20 World Cups and also the first country to win it three times in the history of the competition. India is also the first host nation to win the title on home soil.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team looked to be the best possible team for India, but despite this, many deserving players missed the chance to play the World Cup. One of these players is middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer.
“I’m absolutely surprised about him” – Sourav Ganguly on Shreyas Iyer
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is surprised by the depth of the Indian T20 talent pool, which has resulted in players like Shreyas Iyer being consistently left out of the Indian T20I XI. Speaking about Iyer and other notable absentees, he told RevSportz:
“If Bumrah remains fit then with Virat [Kohli] and rohit [Sharma]India can make another team. The T20 team playing in the World Cup has Virat, Rohit, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal who do not get matches.
“Vaibhav Suryavanshi who will play in any team in the world, Shreyas Iyer who hasn’t got a T20 game – I am absolutely surprised by them not getting a place in white-ball cricket.”
He further added, “Then Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep, who don’t get any games again. So overall, I think India can have another T20 team and it can still be an international team.”
Sourav Ganguly labels Gautam Gambhir as a tough competitor
Although Gautam Gambhir has been constantly criticized, especially for his failure in the longest format of the game, he is a genuine competitor and has led the team to significant success in the other two formats of the game.
Ganguly told RevSportz, “Even though he may be tough all around, he is competitive. He doesn’t need to be tough because he is a good guy. I have seen him. I have played with him for India. He wants to win. He says the right things about his team and tries to create a team environment rather than individuals.”
Shreyas Iyer has been in some remarkable form in the IPL in the last two seasons in 2024 and 2025. He has not played for India in T20 Internationals since 2023, but has never failed to impress in the IPL.
In 2024, he led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title and was then bought by Punjab Kings in 2025 for Rs 26.75 crore. Leading the Kings to their second IPL final, his team finished runners-up in the competition.
Along with his captaincy skills, he has also scored 950+ runs in the IPL in the last few seasons. The Indian batsman would have been a part of any other T20 team from any part of the world.
Also read: “No one will remember…”: Suryakumar Yadav’s big comment on Shivam Dubey’s T20 World Cup heroics