Shreyas Iyer last played a T20I for India in December 2023 and has not been seen in the Test team since February 2024. He has also never been thought of as vice-captain. His career is to be viewed in two phases—pre and post-BCCI dropping him from its central contract list in February 2024. Earlier, though he had patches of brilliance, he was inconsistent, particularly in the longer formats. Although his ODI World Cup performance was impressive, his overall Test and T20I record didn't impress. But then came the change after being dropped. Iyer returned with a new style and mindset. In IPL 2024, he played with a fearless and aggressive strategy, a stark departure from his previous style of play. But the best was yet to come. He played a great domestic season. In the Ranji Trophy, he averaged 68.57 and even hit a double century a remarkable feat given that at the time his overall career average was below 50. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored at an average of 50 with an awe-inspiring strike rate of 188. He carried on with his same dominance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well, scoring 325 runs from five games, getting dismissed just once, and having a strike rate of 131.58. Also Read | Watch: No Fans or Media as Team India Lands in UK Without Kohli-Rohit And then came the Champions Trophy, where Iyer was India's best batsman, even surpassing some big guns such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill. This performance played a key role in earning back his place in the BCCI’s central contracts. His form continued into IPL 2025, where he once again proved to be one of the best batters in the league. Despite this, his exclusion from the Test squad for the England series sparked significant criticism. And now, with the T20 World Cup 2026 looming on the horizon, Iyer is strongly back in the picture. Having guided KKR to an IPL triumph and led Punjab Kings to their second final, and putting up consistently impressive batting shows, it's increasingly hard for selectors to ignore him. Going back into both the T20I and Test teams looks not only possible but inevitable. Here is what a BCCI source told Indian Express “Right now he just plays ODIs but after this IPL we can’t keep him out of T20 internationals and even Tests,”