Suryakumar to be sacked, Shreyas Iyer in 3-way race for India's T20I captaincy
Is this the end of SKY era? Shreyas Iyer is the front-runner to become India's new T20I skipper for the Ireland and England series. The move would indicate a long-term leadership reset, with Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma also in contention.
India may well have a new T20I captain in Shreyas Iyer when they travel for their next T20I series against Ireland and England. Iyer’s appointment means the end of the road for Surya Kumar Yadav, who led India to the T20 World Cup title in March.
Gautam Gambhir will be consulted on Suryakumar’s future before a final call is taken on captaincy but the head coach, at the most, may only be able to delay the inevitable, but even that looks impossible at the moment.
The selectors are now looking for a long-term solution wherein the next captain could lead India in the next two T20 World Cup events. Notably, Suryakumar Yadav led India to T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, but he has struggled for consistency with the bat. In IPL 2026, Suryakumar's struggle 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 does give him an edge, but Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan will be the two dark horses in that race to captaincy.
If Iyer does take the captaincy mantle, one of Tilak and Ishan will be his deputy 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 set up. The 15-year-old swept 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 of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, it is expected that the left-handed opener does get a game or two in the seven T20Is that India are scheduled to play in Ireland and England, starting June 26.