Shreyas Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav as India's new T20 captain
Shreyas Iyer has replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India's new T20I captain. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the 31-year-old Iyer as
Shreyas Iyer has replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India's new T20I captain. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the 31-year-old Iyer as the new T20 skipper heading into India’s upcoming tours to Ireland and England in June-July and the Asian Games 2026, which starts in Japan from September. Meanwhile, Suryakumar, 35, was left out of the squad entirely after a poor extended run of form with the bat. The reshuffle follows a review of India's leadership group after the 2026 T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to the title earlier this year, was left out of the squad after an underwhelming tournament and IPL campaign.
He scored 242 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.72 during the World Cup on home soil before managing 270 runs in 13 IPL innings at an average of 20.76 for the Mumbai Indians in the 2026 season. The shift at the helm marks the BCCI’s intent to ready a fresh T20 unit with the LA 2028 Olympics and the T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand scheduled in the same year in mind. Iyer, however, is an interesting choice for the role considering he hasn’t played a T20I for India since December 2023.
He has scored 1104 runs in 51 appearances in the format with a top score of 74 not out. The stylish right-handed batter was recently called up to India’s T20 setup for the New Zealand series this January as an injury replacement for Tilak Varma but didn’t get a game. Despite his absence from the international arena, though, Iyer boasts an impressive T20 record in domestic cricket as well as the Indian Premier League. He captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and led Punjab Kings to the final in 2025. Despite narrowly missing the playoffs with PBKS this season, Iyer scored an impressive 498 runs in 14 matches.
The tally included his maiden IPL century. Iyer will be the 15th captain in the Indian men’s T20I cricket team’s history. India will begin their tour with two T20Is against Ireland in Belfast on June 26 and 28 before travelling to England for a five-match T20I series from July 1 to 11. The men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games will start from September 24 and conclude with the medal matches on October 3.
The BriefWire