Shreyas Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I captain

MUMBAI: Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the captain of India men's T20I cricket team, replacing fellow batter Suryakumar Yadav, who was dropped from the side altogether owing to his below-par individual performance in the format.

Yadav, who led India to their successful title defence of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup earlier this year, has been under scrutiny due to his underwhelming individual performances in the format, which saw him score 242 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.72 during the 20-team mega event.

His struggles continued in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign, during which he could muster 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and a strike rate of 147.54.

His successor, Iyer, on the other hand, enjoyed a decent IPL stint with the bat, scoring 498 runs at 168.81 in the 2026 edition.

Although the 31-year-old has played a T20I since December 2023 due to team balance issues, with Yadav and Tilak Varma occupying key middle-order roles, he brings strong leadership credentials, having guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and led Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to finals in 2020 and 2025 editions, respectively.

Notably, Iyer was picked as an injury replacement in India's T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand, but did not get to play a single match as the side had prioritised players selected for the subsequent T20 World Cup.

"We've seen what he's done over last few years, leading different franchises," chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said of Iyer in Mumbai on Saturday.

"He won [the IPL title] once, had a tougher season this year after a great start. He's seen everything that a captain possibly can.

"His own performances have been really good. He was quite close to getting into that T20 World Cup squad as well, but [with] Surya still there, there was no room for him. He in my opinion was a stand-out candidate with enough experience now. This will obviously be a different challenge."

Notably, Iyer's first assignment as India's T20I captain will be the two-match away series against Ireland, scheduled to be played in Belfast from June 26 to 28.