Shreyas Iyer an absolute certainty in T20Is. In Tests, it'll again be...: Shastri's verdict as BCCI mulls ENG tour squad

An improved return in white-ball cricket, which included the Champions Trophy performance earlier this month and in the ongoing IPL 2025, saw Shreyas Iyer being awarded a BCCI central contract a year after he was removed from the list. Effusive in his praise for the India star, former head coach Ravi Shastri reckoned he has made himself an "absolute certainty" in limited-overs cricket. However, Shastri is still unsure about Iyer's chances in Test cricket.

Iyer will be among the names discussed when the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee selects the squad for the upcoming Test series in England. India will play five Test matches in the tour, marking the beginning of the 2025/27 World Test Championship cycle.

Iyer has not featured in the India Test squad since being dropped midway through the home series against England in January last year. Shortly after that, he lost his central contract with the BCCI after failing to follow the board's mandate to participate in the then-ongoing Ranji Trophy amid injury concerns. However, Shastri, speaking on the latest episode of the ICC Review, reckoned he might have an outside chance to make the squad for the England tour, provided one of the mainstay middle-order batters is absent.

"Shreyas Iyer in particular, the way he's played for India over the last 18 months and he's become an absolute certainty in the white-ball format of the game, especially the one-day format," Shastri said.

"He can (earn a recall for Test cricket) but it's again going to be a competition. White-ball, certain (selection). Test cricket, (we) have got to see who the other players are around."

What has changed for Shreyas Iyer?

The 30-year-old scripted a phenomenal run in ODI cricket in the last few months, including his performance in the Champions Trophy, where he had emerged as the second leading run-scorer, amassing 243 runs at an average of 48.60.

Shastri explained how Iyer worked on his batting stance through the domestic season last year to script the stunning comeback. He highlighted Iyer's ability to play both sides of the wicket by moving back and across, allowing him to pull, hook, and cut effectively.

"He was very side on, was back and back, very much leg-side. The fact that he's prepared to go back and across now, and with a very upright stance, and the pickup. While he's moving back, the bat's being picked up as well when he's going back and across. That allows him to play both sides of the wicket. If they bang it in short, he can pull and hook. And if there's any room outside the off stump, he can cut as well," he said.

The India legend also explained how Iyer's improvement eliminated his previous vulnerability of being targeted on the leg side. He emphasised the batsman's timing, hand-eye coordination, and potential for destructive batting when he gets into position early.

"So that opens up the game for him rather than being too leg-side where the rib cage was being targeted, and then there was no escape. Now he's got space to go both ways, and he's such a good timer of the ball. He's got good hands, and when he gets into position early, then he can be devastating, as he's showing now when he's batting," he said.