Shreyas Iyer named new skipper as BCCI announces India squad for IRE, ENG T20Is; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also included

Published 6 June 2026 · local

Shreyas Iyer was named the new captain of the Indian T20I team as the BCCI announced the squad for India's upcoming limited-overs tours of Ireland

Shreyas Iyer was named the new captain of the Indian T20I team as the BCCI announced the squad for India's upcoming limited-overs tours of Ireland and England on Friday. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who impressed for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2026, also finds a place in both the squads. Shreyas Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I skipper. Suryakumar Yadav was stripped of India T20I and also lost his place from both the squads to face Ireland and England because of a poor run of form with the bat. Also Read | Virat Kohli ruled out of India vs Afghanistan ODI series due to hamstring injury Suryakumar Yadav's slump in form SKY, as he is affectionally called by his fans, managed to score just 242 runs from nine matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup at a strike-rate of 136.72. He scored just one fifty, an unbeaten 84 against USA, at the start of the T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav also failed to make an impact in IPL 2026, with the Mumbai Indians (MI) batter scoring just 270 runs from 13 matches.

Shreyas Iyer had already shown his credibility as captain. He led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024, and also helped Mumbai clinch the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that same year. Also Read | Shreyas Iyer smashes maiden IPL century in LSG vs PBKS game; social media erupts After being released by KKR despite a successful 2024 season, Punjab Kings (PBKS) signed Iyer for ₹26.75 crore and was named their skipper. He led Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final, where they lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six runs. The 31-year-old, however, last played a T20I for India against Australia in December 2023. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's exploits in IPL 2026 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's rise to fame through the IPL has been nothing short of extraordinary. He introduced himself to the IPL in 2025 with Rajasthan Royals (RR), scoring 252 runs from seven matches at a strike-rate of 206.55. That was, however, only just the beginning. After scoring 439 runs from seven matches at the 2026 Under-19 World Cup, Vaibhav maintained that form to amass 776 runs from 16 matches at a strike-rate of 237.30 in IPL 2026.

He went onto win the Orange Cap, becoming the youngest-ever to do so at the age of 15. The BCCI also announced the India squad for the 2026 Asian Games that will take place in Japan later this year. Shreyas Iyer will captain the Men in Blue in Japan, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also retains his place. Jasprit Bumrah has also been named in the India squad for the Asian Games, but has been rested for the T20Is against Ireland and England keeping the ODI series against England in mind because of the 2027 World Cup. The BCCI also announced the squad for India A ahead of their tour of Sri Lanka for two unofficial Tests. Dhruv Jurel has been named the skipper whereas Devdutt Padikkal will be his deputy. India will play two T20Is against Ireland in Belfast on 26 and 28 June, before heading to England for a five-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series. The T20I series against England will begin on 1 July with the first match taking place at Chester-Le-Street.