New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): As Team India gears up for the Asia Cup T20 edition, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer 'needs to be spoken about' following a hard-hitting Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Punjab Kings (PBKS) as a skipper and ICC Champions Trophy campaign for India, as he was 'hitting boundaries whenever he wished' and eased pressure for other batters.

With a fiery top order of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav firing heavily leading up to the tournament and showing some glimpses of their peak during the 2025 IPL, Iyer, along with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal fights for a spot in the top-order for the tournament. India's campaign will kickstart against hosts UAE on September 10.

Iyer continued to dominate ODI cricket this year, finishing as India's top run-getter and overall second-highest run-getter in their CT 2025 title win, scoring 243 runs in five matches and innings at an average of 48.60 with two half-centuries and a best score of 79.

Later, in IPL 2025, Iyer ended up as the sixth-highest run-getter and had his best season, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*. He played a massive role in taking PBKS to their first IPL final since 2014, but the team fell short by six runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Chopra said that Iyer needs to be in the Asia Cup squad because of his boundary-hitting, his middle-overs brilliance and how often IPL serves as a parameter to bring players in the side.

'Shreyas Iyer needs to be spoken about because when we were watching the Champions Trophy, no Indian player was better than him in the middle overs. He was the guy who was taking the attack to the opposition. He was the guy who was hitting boundaries whenever he wished, and removing the pressure on the batter at the other end,' Chopra said on the Youtube channel.

'After that came the IPL. There were plenty of pressures. This was Shreyas Iyer's best-ever IPL season. We have repeatedly seen that T20 selections are based on IPL performances. We have seen that with Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and everyone. If we see it from that token, Shreyas Iyer deserves to play,' he observed.

Aakash also added that Tilak would bat at number three or four and looks 'unstoppable' as India's number three. In 13 T20Is as India's designated number three, Tilak has managed 443 runs at an average of 55.37, with a strike rate of almost 170, with two centuries and two fifties.

'Since he bats lower down the order in the IPL, it is an apple vs orange comparison. If you see his numbers, you feel the guy has not done anything wrong,' he said.

Chopra feels that dropping Tilak could help India maintain a left-right combination, with Abhishek, Samson, Iyer and Suryakumar offering that combination.

'Will you drop Tilak Varma from the XI because I believe Shreyas Iyer's best place to bat is either number three or four? If he goes to No. 5, I think it will be a little too low in T20 cricket, and Surya is at No. 4,' Chopra concluded. (ANI)