India’s new T20I captain: Shreyas Iyer is the front-runner in the three-way race

India may have a new T20I captain in Shreyas Iyer when they go for their next T20I series against Ireland and England. The appointment of Iyer would mark the end of the journey for Surya Kumar Yadav, who led India to the World T20 title in March.

Gautam Gambhir will be consulted on Suryakumar’s future before the final call is taken to appoint the captain, but the head coach can at most delay the inevitable, but even that seems highly unlikely at this point.

The selectors are now looking for a long-term solution where the next captain can lead India in the next two T20 World Cup events. Suryakumar Yadav led India to triumph in the T20 World Cup earlier this year, but he has struggled for consistency with the bat. In IPL 2026, Suryakumar’s struggles continued as he managed just 270 runs in 13 matches for Mumbai Indians, who finished ninth.

TILAK AND ISHAN IN THE RACE

Iyer’s experience and runs in the IPL give him an edge, but Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan will be the two dark horses in this race for captaincy.

If Iyer takes over the captaincy, one of Tilak and Ishan will be his representative for India in the shortest format.

The BCCI has to announce the squad for the Asian Games and India will send their first-choice team to defend the gold medal they won in 2022.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s recent success with the bat at the top of the order is expected to prompt the selectors to pick him in India’s T20 squad. The 15-year-old won the post-tournament awards in IPL 2026 after finishing the season with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.20.

With the top-order already boasting Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, the left-handed opener is expected to get a match or two in the seven T20Is that India are scheduled to play in Ireland and England from June 26.

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Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

03 Jun 2026 19:32 IST