MUMBAI: Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the captain of the Indian men’s T20 cricket team, with fellow batsman Suryakumar Yadav being dropped from the squad altogether due to his underperformance in individual form.
Yadav, who led India to a successful title defense at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, has come under scrutiny for his individual performances in that 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 amassed 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and a strike rate of 147.54.
On the other hand, his successor Iyer enjoyed a decent IPL tenure with the bat, scoring 498 runs at an average of 168.81 in the 2026 edition.
Although the 31-year-old has only played T20s since December 2023 due to team balance issues, with Yadav and Tilak Verma occupying key middle-order roles, he brings strong leadership credentials, having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the 2020 finals.
Iyer was selected as an injury replacement in India’s T20I squad for the domestic series against New Zealand, but could not play a single match as he prioritized players selected for the next T20 World Cup.
“We have seen what he has done over the last few years, leading different franchises,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said of Iyer in Mumbai on Saturday.
“He won (the IPL title) once and had a tough season this year after a great start. He has seen everything a captain can do.
“His own performances have been very good. He was very close to being in that T20 World Cup squad, but there is no place for him (with Surya). I think he is the stand-out candidate now with enough experience. It will obviously be a different challenge.”
Notably, Iyer’s first assignment as India’s T20I captain is the two-match series against Ireland, scheduled to be held in Belfast from June 26 to 28.