Published on: Jun 5, 2026 4:13 pm IST|Updated on: Jun 5, 2026 4:13 pm IST
Suryakumar Yadav’s tenure as Team India’s T20I skipper is all set to reach its twilight end. Several inside reports have suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to announce Shreyas Iyer as Team India’s new T20I captain. Yadav, who has led the team ever since Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean, is no longer in the BCCI’s long-term plans owing to his extended lean patch with the bat.
Iyer, who last played a T20I for India back in December 2023 against Australia in Bengaluru, is in line to become a permanent member of India’s T20 setup, replacing the out-of-form Suryakumar Yadav. Since 2024, the 35-year-old batter has managed 1131 runs in 50 innings at an average of 26.30, well below his career mark of 36.35. During this period, he has registered only eight fifty‑plus scores, compared to 21 such knocks in the earlier phase of his career since his debut in 2021.
Iyer was last selected in the Indian T20I team during the five-match home series against New Zealand prior to the T20 World Cup 2026. However, due to a stacked batting order, Iyer never got a chance to feature in the eleven. The BCCI is expected to make an official announcement on the matter on Saturday, June 06.
The talented right-hand batter’s name has been making all the right noise for a captaincy role in India’s white-ball setup. After getting the vice-captaincy of Team India’s ODI setup last year, Iyer was close enough to get a leadership role in the T20I side as well.
Iyer’s numbers in the recently concluded Tata IPL 2026 also made his case strong, as his individual performance for the Punjab Kings grabbed many eyebrows. Enduring one of his best IPL seasons in a while, Shreyas ended up with 498 runs to his name from just 13 innings at a scintillating strike rate of 169, batting at no 4. His magnificent show with the bat helped him pip Suryakumar Yadav in the Indian T20I setup and also take over the captaincy reins.
Surya’s form with the bat may have been lackluster for almost two years in a row, but the right-hand batter will go down as one of the most successful T20I captains in the history of Indian cricket. He etched his name into the history books earlier this year by winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, becoming only the third Indian skipper to achieve this feat.
Besides the T20 World Cup, Surya won the 2025 Asia Cup as skipper and maintained an impressive unbeaten record in bilateral series before being replaced in mid‑2026. In fact, he is the only captain in world cricket to never lose a bilateral series after leading a side for 2 or more years. Here’s a glance at his captaincy achievements, a captain who never lost a bilateral series:
The passing of the leadership baton comes with huge responsibilities, and Shreyas would be quite aware of that. As per India Today, Shreyas Iyer will commence his captaincy tenure with India in the two‑match T20I series against Ireland, scheduled in Belfast on June 26 and June 28. The Ireland series will be followed by a trip to England, where Team India will play 5 T20Is.
With two years left for the next T20 World Cup and the LA Olympics (both slated in 2028), the selectors have perhaps made the right call by giving Shreyas the captaincy, as he will have ample time up his sleeve to build a team for the future.