India T20I squads: Shreyas Iyer era begins; Suryakumar Yadav dropped, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked

Shreyas Iyer and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Image Agency) Shreyas Iyer was announced as India’s new T20I captain as the men’s selection committee chaired by Ajit Agarkar picked the squads for the Asian Games tour of Ireland and England. Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav who failed to find a place in the team. Tilak Varma has also been promoted as vice-captain in the T20I setup, which does not see much change from the team that won the T20 World Cup earlier this year.Jasprit Bumrah was not selected for the T20Is against England and Ireland but was included in the squad for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Mohammed Siraj made way for Bumrah and Prince Yadav in the 15-man squad for the multi-game event. Both Siraj and Yadav are likely to feature in the ODIs against the West Indies, which will overlap with the Asian Games.In a significant change, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been picked in both teams with the selectors expressing a mix of excitement and trepidation to see what he has to offer on the big stage.

Indian team for Ireland and England

Asked why Iyer was selected and named captain, Agarkar said, “We have seen what Shreyas Iyer has done in different seasons with different teams. He was also close to making the World Cup squad. He is an exceptional candidate with enough experience. It is tough for SKY (Suryakumar Yadav). You try and reassess, this was the best way after the World Cup.”Hardik Pandya, undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI CoE, has not been considered for the T20I series as the management, like Bumrah, wants to retain the premier all-rounder for the Under-50 World Cup. “He is part of the ODIs. Like Jasprit Bumrah, the main focus is to see if he can start playing well and stay healthy for the World Cup after 50,” Agarkar explained.India squad for Ireland and England T20Is: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Yaep Siraj, Arshi Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Indian Asian Games squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun C, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah, Jasprit Bumrah