India new T20 captain Highlights: Shreyas Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav as skipper; Sooryavanshi gets maiden call-up

That brings us to the end of our coverage of the announcement of India’s squads for the upcoming T20I assignments in Ireland and England as well as the Asian Games. Thank you and good bye!

“We have a very large white-ball player pool. A couple of years ago we had multiple Indian teams playing simultaneously in different tournaments,” Saikia said later in Saturday’s presser in Mumbai.

“The selectors have a tough job. You can never keep everybody happy. There will always be discussions about who should or shouldn’t have been picked.

“But based on recent performances, the selectors have done their job and we hope these teams do very well in Ireland, England and the Asian Games,” he added.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirms that the announcement will be made later during the ongoing multi-format series against Afghanistan. The delay might have to do with concerns over Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s fitness as well as pondering over the decision to include Jasprit Bumrah.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel leads this group that will be playing multi-day games in Sri Lanka, with Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi among those included:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar, who has led the franchise to back-to-back titles and has been handy with the bat as an explosive middle-order batter, doesn’t find a place in the Men in Blue’s squads – either for the UK tour or for the Asian Games.

“We discussed a host of players. We think these 15 are deserving. Lot of good players in India. Plenty who are good enough to walk into the team, but the guys playing are doing as well as they can. We think we’ve picked good squads. Always will have players missing out, but we’ve picked a good squad, happy with this one,” Agarkar says on Patidar’s exclusion.

“Clean break after WC. We’ve got a bit more time. Shreyas absolutely deserves it. With the bat. Also his performances as captain, having won it once at KKR, couple of really good seasons with PBKS. It was unusual he wasn’t part of the T20I squad, but now that he’s found a spot, he has earned it,” the chief selector continues, further justifying the decision to name Iyer as the new T20I skipper.

Agarkar also confirms conveying the BCCI’s decision to Suryakumar Yadav but doesn’t share the details of their conversation in the press conference.

Prince Yadav was one of the few bright spots in what was otherwise a forgettable IPL season for LSG, the pacer finishing as the team’s leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average and economy of 28.68 and 8.82 respectively.

“White-ball season was very good, played superbly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Backed that up with good performances in the IPL. Bowls well under pressure, has skillsets. Moves the ball, bowls well towards the end of the innings. Bowled well for Delhi, was the first time we saw him bowl this season. Caught our eye, always in our plans. AFG ODIs, a great chance to see what he can do in 50-over cricket,” Agarkar said, justifying the Delhi pacer’s call-up.

Hardik Pandya has been left out of India’s squads for all three assignments, with Nitish Kumar Reddy included as one of two seam-bowling all-rounders alongside Shivam Dube.

“With regard to Hardik, he’s part of the one-day squad right now for Afghanistan. Like we said, if we can get him playing well and keep him fit for one-day cricket — I don’t think he’s played one-day cricket for a while — that is, at this point, the main objective,” Agarkar said, explaining the decision.

“We can always bring him back. It also gives us an opportunity to give someone like Nitish Reddy a few opportunities in T20 cricket. So there will be a little bit of rest and rotation with regards to T20 cricket.

“The main objective is to see if he can start playing well and stay healthy for 50-over cricket, with the World Cup about a year and a half away. He gives us a lot of balance. The World Cup is in South Africa and, if he’s bowling well enough, we’ll assess how we go over the next few months,” he added.

“We’ve seen what he can do, towards playoffs, almost single-handledly carried Rajasthan Royals. Not just this season, had a great start and to back-it up in a competition that is as competitive and high-pressure, he’s a game-changer. we’ve got high hopes of him and he has picked himself,” says chief selector Agarkar.

Sooryavanshi was the standout performer in the recent IPL season, winning the Orange Cap after finishing with 776 runs in his first full season at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. Not the kind of numbers selectors can afford to ignore, especially considering the manner in which the ‘Universe Baby Boss’ dominated some of the best bowlers in the world while helping Rajasthan Royals go as far as Qualifier 2.

“Gill was vice-captain leading into World Cup. But when we decided to have two keepers, he missed out. Axar was vice-captain, but we’re looking at what’s best for the next two-year cycle. Tilak is a terrific player, allows him to learn on the job,” says the chief selector.

Worth noting that Tilak was in the fray for the leadership role, having previously led the India A team at the Emerging Teams Asia Cup in 2024. The southpaw, however, has been named Shreyas’ deputy for now, with the team management hoping he learns from the senior batter in the next T20 World Cup cycle.

“With regards to Shreyas, seen what he’s done last few years, leading different franchises. Led a team to title, his own performances been good. Was close to being part of the WC squad, in my opinion was a “stand-out candidate,” Agarkar, seated beside BCCI secretary Saikia, says during the press conference.

“With regards to SKY, it was a tough one. Partly his own form and also looking at next two-year cycle, we thought this was the best way forward. Shreyas is well-deserving,” he continues.

Given Bumrah’s workload issues, the team management will be intending to utilise him in important events only. And with a medal at stake at the Asian Games, the team management and selectors are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the Men in Blue stand top of the podium.

Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been left out of both squads, with Harshit Rana returning to the squad after recovering from injury and Prince Yadav included in the pace department.

That’s the third T20I vice-captain for the Indian team in the span of a year after Shubman Gill and Axar!

Sooryavanshi has been included in India’s squads for the tours of Ireland and England as well as the Asian Games, and is likely to set a new record as a youngest international cricketer of all time later this year!

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and chief selector Ajit Agarkar announce the squads for India’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom as well as the Asian Games!

Suryakumar Yadav has been dropped from the T20I setup completely!

While Rajat Patidar is unlikely to be named India captain, he certainly had highlighted his skills as a destructive middle-order batter and a finisher. There are also the likes of spin-bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar who have made a solid case to earn a recall.

The three had played a key role in helping RCB successfully defend their title this IPL season, and at least one of them should get a place in India’s squads.

Shreyas Iyer was expected to join chief selector Ajit Agarkar during India’s squad announcement to be officially unveiled as the new T20I captain. According to The Indian Express, the Punjab Kings captain is attending the selection meeting virtually.

It’s past 1 pm Indian Standard Time, the scheduled time for chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s announcement of India’s squads for the tour of UK and the Asian Games.

Gill had been unceremoniously dumped from the Indian T20I team in December ahead of the T20 World Cup due to his strike rate and form, with the selectors and team management continuing to back Sanju Samson for the opener’s role.

The Indian Test and ODI captain had another productive IPL season for Gujarat Titans, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 732 runs at a strike rate of 163.02. However, the sheer abundance of talent in the top order makes it difficult even for someone of Gill’s calibre to be slotted into the playing XI.

Agarkar, and possibly Shreyas Iyer, were scheduled to unveil India’s squads for the upcoming white-ball assignments abroad at 1 pm. The selection meeting with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia is currently underway, and should be concluding soon.

Shreyas Iyer reportedly has been named Suryakumar Yadav’s successor as India T20I captain. If that is indeed the case, it would be sense for him to be seated next to chief selector Ajit Agarkar for the squad announcement today.

Shubman Gill, after all, had accompanied Agarkar for the squad announcement of India’s tour of Australia last year when he had replaced Rohit Sharma as ODI skipper.

The selection meeting is now underway:

Ajit Agarkar and other selectors have reached the venue and the meeting is expected to be underway soon. Let us see how quickly it gets over.

The reason why Shreyas Iyer is so far ahead in the captaincy race of the Indian T20 team is his leadership skills in IPL. His win percentage in the league is only behind MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in IPL for anyone who has captained more than 100 games. He has also led three teams to IPL final, a feat not achieved by anyone else.

The selection committee has given the time of 1:00 PM IST for the press conference where the official announcement regarding the captaincy change will be made.

Interestingly, Axar Patel, who is the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side, is not being considered to lead the Indian side. Axar, leads the Delhi Capitals in IPL, has not been impressive in the league.

There have been reports that had stated Gautam Gambhir is not fully on board with the plan of having Shreyas Iyer as captain. However, the latest update on this is that Gambhir has no issues with Iyer becoming the skipper of the side.

Suryakumar Yadav has a win percentage of 80.77 as India’s T20I captain, the highest in world cricket. He has led India to 42 wins in 52 T20Is so far (including wins in Super Overs). With him at the helm, India have lost only eight games (NR: 2). Despite this solid record, he is being dropped.

Iyer has earned accolades for his captaincy with multiple IPL franchises. He is the only captain in IPL to have led three teams to final. He also has among the best win percentages for an IPL captain. He led Delhi Capitals to their first-ever final in 2021 and then helped Kolkata Knight Riders win the title after a decade in 2024. He then switched to Punjab Kings, a team he is currently leading, and took them to the final after 11 years in 2025.