Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has criticised Shreyas Iyer after India was hammered by 125 runs against England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday. India has lost all four matches on the UK tour, including two games against beleaguered Ireland.
India was skittled out for a paltry score of 76 runs in the previous match, which is their second-lowest T20I score. Furthermore, India suffered its biggest loss in T20Is.
Badrinath highlighted that Iyer has lost 10 out of his 11 matches while leading India and his IPL side, Punjab Kings. PBKS had got off to a dream start in IPL 2026 but veered off the track in the second phase of the league stage.
Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “Losing by 125 runs in a Test match itself is a huge margin. It begs the question if Shreyas Iyer is actually a good captain or not. He has lost 10 of his last 11 as captain from the second half of the IPL. Even I was hyping Shreyas as a captain. But Indians have the tendency to overhype someone too quickly and also bring him down just as fast.”
“That’s happening with him. It’s also looking worse for him because a World Cup-winning captain was removed instantly, with him being the replacement.”
Iyer was dismissed after scoring only five runs when he flicked an innocuous delivery to the deep fielder on the leg side in the previous game.
On the other hand, former CSK batter questioned the team’s management for promoting Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube.
“You drop your proven right-handers like Samson and Surya. And then to have the presence of a right-hander against Jacks, you send Harshit Rana in. What kind of move is this? It is unfathomable to send Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).
“Dube’s best game is to take on the slower bowlers. If you don’t send him when they are bowling, then why is he even in the team? Is he a medium pacer who can bat? If that’s what you want, then why not just go for a better medium-pacer who can bat. There is no use of having a Dube if Harshit Rana goes ahead of him.”
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
