In 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wasn’t pleased with Shreyas Iyer. Citing a back injury, the batter refused to play for Mumbai. However, the medical staff at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) didn’t back Shreyas’ claim. Subsequently, he was at odds with the board.
Shreyas Iyer: India’s new T20I captain
In the coming months, the BCCI cut him from the central contracts, made domestic cricket mandatory and his place in the ODI team came under threat. About 2 years later, Shreyas was named India’s T20I captain. He replaces Suryakumar Kumar, who led the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup 2026 trophy, despite not playing a match for India in the shortest format since December 2023.
“With regard to Shreyas Iyer, we’ve seen what he’s done over the last few years, leading different franchises. Led a team to a title; his performances have been good. Was close to being part of the (T20) World Cup squad; in my opinion, was a standout candidate,” Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar said.
In less than 3 years, Shreyas has gone from the lowest to the highest. It’s been a monumental turnaround. With each passing year, he has improved himself. Taking the Kolkata Knight Riders to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2024; the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the IPL final in 2025; and, in between all of this, taking his T20 game to a new level, Shreyas has done it all.
Suryakumar’s dwindling returns, combined with Shreyas reaching new heights, have forced the BCCI to reward him. The 31-year-old makes a comeback to the T20I team after 30 months as captain for the Ireland tour, the England tour, and the Asian Games.
“Surya led the team to the World Cup, and now Shreyas has been appointed the captain. I am sure that, with how he (Shreyas) has captained his franchise (the Punjab Kings) and Mumbai, he’s going to have a good time (with India) as well. Nothing has come easy for so many of these cricketers, especially for Surya. He made his India debut at 31, so that shows he was always up for the fight. When the chance came, he wanted to grab it with both hands, and he did,” former India T20I captain Rohit Sharma told the broadcasters during T20 Mumbai League 2026.
India T20I squad for Ireland, England & Asian Games 2026
Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj (not in Asian Games), Prince Yadav (not in Asian Games), Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah (only for Asian Games)
Cricket
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