Shreyas Iyer joins Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill on the wanted list after Ireland’s scintillating historic upset
Shreyas Iyer (Image credit: BCCI) NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer’s first appearance as India’s T20I captain ended in disappointment on Friday as Ireland stunned the reigning world champions by 34 runs in Belfast, relegating the Mumbai batter to an unwanted spot in the record books.With the defeat, Iyer became only the fourth Indian captain to lose his first T20I captain, joining an unfortunate list that includes Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.Kohli’s first match as a T20I captain ended in defeat against England in Kanpur in 2017. The same fate befell Pant against South Africa in Delhi in 2022, while Gill’s captaincy debut ended in a loss against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2024. Iyer has now added his name to that list after Ireland’s historic win.The result also marked Ireland’s first ever victory over India in men’s international cricket.
The Indian captains lost their first T20I in charge
- Virat Kohli vs England in Kanpur 2017
- Rishabh Pant vs South Africa in Delhi 2022
- Shubman Gill vs Zimbabwe in Harare 2024
- Shreyas Iyer vs Ireland in Belfast 2026
A historic comeback overshadowed by a historic defeat
Ironically, Iyer entered the match with a remarkable record already to his name.The 31-year-old returned to India’s T20I squad after missing 63 consecutive matches since his previous appearance against Australia in December 2023 – the longest gap of any player before captaining the national team in T20 internationals.His captaincy debut also brought two more milestones. At 31 years and 202 days, he became the third oldest player to make his T20I debut as captain for India, behind Shikhar Dhawan and Suryakumar Yadav.Iyer also became the most experienced T20 captain before his Indian captaincy debut, having led 114 T20 matches across franchise and domestic cricket, ahead of Rohit Sharma (80), Virat Kohli (72) and KL Rahul (42).
Irish debutants steal the show
Once the action started, however, records counted for little.Asked to bat first, Ireland made a superb recovery from 51 for 4 to 182 for 9 thanks to a fluent 50 from skipper Lorcan Tucker and 49 from Gareth Delany.India’s chase never gained momentum despite Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 50. Ireland’s debutants proved to be the difference as India paceman Jai Moondra took 2 for 25 while Matt Hollard impressed with 3 for 28, sparking a batting collapse.India were eventually bowled out for 148 with seven balls to spare, giving Ireland one of the biggest victories in their cricketing history.