Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has opined that we should not judge Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy too early. Iyer’s stint as India’s T20I captain hasn’t started on a good note as the team has suffered four losses.
India suffered a 0-2 series loss against Ireland and are now trailing 0-2 against England. Chopra said Iyer was handed over the captaincy baton from Suryakumar Yadav while keeping in mind the 2028 T20 World Cup and there is a long way to go for the mega event.
Iyer has a fantastic record as a leader in the IPL, leading KKR to glory in IPL 2024. Furthermore, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings made it to the finals of the tournament in 2020 and 2025 seasons respectively, under his captaincy.
“It shouldn’t be judged so quickly because things have changed. Suryakumar Yadav was the captain earlier, and now you have made Shreyas Iyer the captain. There is no Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, or Nitish Kumar Reddy. Not that Reddy was playing the World Cup, but there have been changes,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Even Varun Chakaravarthy wasn’t available in one series. So when you look at it from that perspective, you feel it’s too early to judge, and why should it be judged so early, as your path is very long. You are thinking about the World Cup. That’s in 2028,” he added.
Chopra said it would not be prudent to make any changes after only five games.
“So to make any change today in haste because we feel we need to change, it won’t be the right thing to do. If we start judging Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy based on the fact that the start hasn’t been good, then we will never build a team,” he observed.
On the other hand, the renowned commentator reckons Suryakumar Yadav should have been allowed to lead the team in one or two series.
“Personally, I felt Suryakumar Yadav should have been allowed to captain in one or two more series – that Ireland series and this England series. Then we could have said that we want to move away. It would have been right had that off-ramp been given,” he said.
“If you have not done that and given Shreyas Iyer a chance, stay with him for some time. It’s not a good thing if we start running here and there very early. I am not going to judge Shreyas’ captaincy based on the performance in one or two series,” Chopra observed.
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
