Shreyas Iyer is all set to replace Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain, it has been reported by ESPN Cricinfo. SKY had a dismal run in IPL 2026 for Mumbai Indians with the bat and the pressure is surely building on him.
The veteran batter could only manage 270 runs in 13 matches at an average of 20.77 and a strike rate of 147.54 in IPL 2026 and thus could not deliver the goods for the five-time champions. But, SKY had led India to the T20 World Cup glory.
However, barring scoring a fine knock of 84 runs in the T20 World Cup opener against the USA, SKY could not much of notice in the tournament. The right-hander scored 242 runs in nine matches of the T20I showpiece 30.25 and a strike rate of 136.72.
Meanwhile, Iyer scored 498 runs in 13 innings in IPL 2026 at an average of 55.33 and a strike rate of 168.81. Iyer has taken three different IPL teams to the final of the tournament, including KKR’s glory run in IPL 2024.
He scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in IPL 2025 for PBKS and has been consistently knocking on the selectors doors for T20I selection. But the Mumbai batter has not played a T20I since December 2023 due to India’s inability to find a place for him due to squad combinations.
Iyer to expected to take over the T20I captaincy baton from Ireland series onwards. India will play two T20Is against Ireland and five T20Is against England.
On the other hand, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is set to become the youngest player selected in an India men’s squad since Sachin Tendulkar in the late 1980s. Suryavanshi ended the IPL 2026 season with 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a blistering strike rate of 237.30. Thus, he bagged the Orange Cap award along with the MVP of the season. He also won the Super Striker and Emerging Player of the season award.
