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.
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.
“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.
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
Team India squad for Ireland, England T20Is, Asian Games, India A squad for Sri Lanka tour announced
