Shreyas Iyer named India’s T20I skipper, Ajit Agarkar explains decision to drop Suryakumar Yadav

Marking a new era in Indian Cricket, Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the new T20I skipper replacing T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Suryakumar Yadav. 

There were speculations going around regarding the same for many days, and now it has been confirmed by the Chairman of the Senior Men's Selection Committee Ajit Agarkar in a press conference on June 6.

Speaking about the situation, the former India pacer noted that it was a tough decision to take, with Suryakumar having led India to a World Cup glory, but considering his poor recent form with the bat, the selection committee opted to take the hard call.

“We debated it a lot, not the easiest discussion especially if you've won the WC. At some stage, we would've discussed. Shreyas playing as well as he has made the decision easier,” Agarkar said in a press conference.  

He further credited Shreyas Iyer as a deserving captain, while mentioning his impressive record as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Iyer had led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a championship in IPL 2024, while also leading Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings in the final of the league in 2020 and 2025, respectively.

“Shreyas absolutely deserves it. With the bat, also his performances as captain, having won it once at KKR, a couple of really good seasons with PBKS. It was unusual as he wasn't part of the T20I squad, but now that he's found a spot, he has earned it. He was close to being part of the WC squad, in my opinion was a "stand-out candidate," Agarkar concluded.

Left-hander Tilak Varma has been named as a vice-captain of the Indian T20I team for the same. When asked about this move, Agarkar noted that Tilak Varma is a youngster and they are looking for the next two-year cycle.  

“Gill was vice-captain leading into WC. but when we decided to have two keepers he missed out. Axar was vice- captain, but we're looking at what's best for the next two-year cycle. Tilak is a terrific player, which gives him an opportunity to learn on the job,” said Agarkar on Tilak’s appointment as vice-captain.

Suryakumar Yadav took the captaincy responsibilities from Rohit Sharma after his T20I retirement, and was brilliant as a captain. He led the Men in Blue in 50 matches, with a stunning 80.76% win percentage, as India won 42 and lost just eight games, including T20 World Cup and Asia Cup 2025 victories.

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, has played 51 T20I matches, scoring 1104 runs with a strike rate of 136.12.

T20I Squad for Ireland and England T20Is: 

Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Isha Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi