Mohammad Kaif is unhappy with the Indian selectors’ decision to prefer Sai Sudharsan over Shreyas Iyer for the England series. Ajit Agrakar, the chief selector, announced the 18-member team on May 24, with Sai getting his maiden call in the longest format of the game. Karun Nair was also recalled for the five games.

Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer last played a Test against England in 2024 and since then has been out of the squad. He performed well in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 480 runs in 5 matches, including a double hundred.

Kaif mentioned that Sudharsan was selected after a good IPL season, while Shreyas has been consistent for a long time. The former cricketer said that the Punjab Kings captain was at his best in the 2023 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

Kaif felt that the selection panel looked at Sai’s IPL form for his selection, but ignored it when it came to Iyer.

“Sai Sudharsan is a good player without a doubt. But he was selected in the Test team after a good IPL season. Iyer has been scoring runs for a long time. He scored above 500 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup and was India’s top batter in the Champions Trophy. He has crossed the 500-run mark for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025. He is leading the franchise as well. For one player white-ball performance is taken into consideration but not for the other,” Mohammad Kaif said.

The southpaw has managed 679 runs in the 18th season of the IPL. He is one of the most consistent performers in domestic cricket. On the other hand, Iyer only plays ODIs for the Men in Blue, and he has accumulated 514 runs in 14 matches of this edition of the cash-rich league.