Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has questioned the absence of 30-year-old batter Shreyas Iyer in the Indian squad selected for the England Test series.

Ganguly criticised the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) citing Iyer's impressive performance in the last one year.

"He should have been in this team... He is playing at his best in the last one year... He is not the same player when he got left out. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He has been scoring under pressure, playing the short ball well although Test cricket is different.

"We have to give someone an opportunity to find out whether we can.. So I would have had him in this series," said the ex-BCCI chief speaking to Revsportz.

Photo: Shreyas Iyer in a Test match. Shreyas Iyer/X

In the conversation, Ganguly expressed hope for India's good performance in the series in England.

The former skipper, who made his Test debut at Lord's in London, said India will have to bat disciplined and bowl well to excel in the English conditions.

"I want to see good, tough, tight batting in these conditions. There should be no hit through the line or up or play the loose shot outside off-stump because these conditions test batters," said Ganguly.

On Sai Sudharsan's inclusion into the team, he said, "He is very good but IPL and Test cricket are different. He has got the technique, temperament and scores in big matches. He is a very clean player but again for him, the approach as a batter remains the same," he said.

India will take on England in the five-match Test series under new captain Shubman Gill.

The team will be heavily dependent on young batters like Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant in absence of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who retired from Tests ahead of the England series.

The series will begin in Leeds on June 20.