‘Shubman Gill not coming back’: Former India batsman makes big claims for T20I captaincy

Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill of India (PTI Photo)India’s Shreyas Iyer (PTI Photo)Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill of India (PTI Photo)India’s Shreyas Iyer (PTI Photo)Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill of India (PTI Photo) Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has strongly backed Shreyas Iyer as the ideal candidate to take over India’s T20I captaincy if the team leadership decides to move on from Suryakumar Yadav.India are likely to hand over the T20I captaincy to Shreyas ahead of the upcoming series in Ireland and England. While no official announcement has been made, Kaif believes that the Punjab Kings captain is a prime candidate for the role.On his YouTube channel, Kaif highlighted Iyer’s leadership role and pointed to his successful partnership with head coach Gautam Gambhir during Kolkata Knight Riders’ victorious IPL 2024 campaign. He also mentioned Iyer’s ability to lead several franchises deep into tournaments.“Gautam has worked with Shreyas before and won a trophy for KKR. Shreyas took Delhi and Punjab to the final. In terms of experience, Shreyas has led the IPL, won a trophy and understands Gautam’s role model.”Kaif further suggested that Iyer is comfortably ahead of the other contenders as he has proven his reputation as a captain as well as a batsman.“In terms of this mutual understanding, Shreyas seems to be the pioneer. He is miles ahead of the other contenders. He even scored when he was captain. You will find very few players who are captain and also score. There is no better choice than him,” he said.Iyer’s stock has risen significantly over the past two seasons of the IPL. After playing a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ winning campaign, he followed it up by guiding Punjab Kings to the final of IPL 2025 while continuing to contribute heavily with the bat.Kaif acknowledged that replacing a captain who has already won a World Cup title could be a controversial move. However, he felt that if the selectors had already decided to go in a different direction, appointing Iyer would be a logical step.“When you remove a World Cup-winning captain, there can’t be more chaos. When all these challenges have been accepted, it’s not a big challenge,” he said.While endorsing Iyer, Kaif also reserved special praise for Jasprit Bumrah, saying the fast bowler would be his first choice if fitness and availability were not concerned.“Jasprit Bumrah deserves it if you look at it. He was in Surya’s team, he played for a long time and he did it. If he is ready for captaincy, he should be first above all other names. He also captained MI and they won that match. He even gave a statement which shows that he has desire to captain. I don’t know about his fitness and participation in the team, he shouldn’t be close to him, but the team has done well in different conditions,” he said.Kaif also considered other names that were discussed in talks with the management. According to him, the lead in the T20I captaincy race seems to have shifted to Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill.“They crossed Pandya. At one point I asked myself why they don’t make him captain. Gill won’t come back because he was on trial and also didn’t score so they passed him too. I’m thinking now that Hardik shouldn’t even be the franchise captain. Maybe he could be a better captain outside MI, maybe. If he wants to stay in MI, don’t be Momad Kaif’s captain.”With speculation continuing over India’s next T20I captain, Kaif’s verdict was clear: among the options available, Shreyas Iyer remains the strongest candidate to lead the side into its next phase.