R Ashwin evaluates BCCI's decision to appoint Shreyas Iyer as T20 captain: 'It's going to be a hard...'

Former India cricketer R Ashwin critiqued the Board of Control for Cricket in India's decision to announce Shreyas Iyer as the Men in Blue's new T20 captain. The veteran was critical of it before the decision was made official.

On Saturday, Iyer was announced as India's new T20I skipper, succeeding Suryakumar Yadav for the upcoming T20 cycle leading to the 2028 T20 World Cup. Tilak Varma was named as the vice-captain.

'He cannot be made captain straightaway'

Before Shreyas Iyer was officially announced as India's T20 skipper, R Ashwin bemoaned the speculations, questioning how he can lead the squad when he wasn't part of the team for a while.   

“Someone who wasn't even on the team, how can he do the captaincy? I read somewhere that Shreyas Iyer will be the team's captain. I just want to ask how someone who wasn't even there in the T20 World Cup squad can make the captain now.

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“I have a lot of time for Shreyas. When he wasn't picked, we talked about it for a long time. But this is also wrong. He cannot be made the captain straightaway,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin analyses Iyer's T20 captaincy appointment

After BCCI publicly announced the decision, Ashwin questioned the fairness and consistency of the captaincy selection process. While he acknowledged Iyer's dominant leadership record in IPL, other T20 WC-winning squad members might feel overlooked for the position.

He also bemoaned the logic behind Axar Patel's vice-captaincy appointment if he wasn't capable enough to step up for the role and stressed the need for solidarity, stability, and clear reasoning in leadership selections.

"Very recently, we had this conversation on Shreyas Iyer deserving to get into the T20 side. I am all for that. But I am again, wondering, if I am one of the other 14 members in that T20 World Cup winning side, I am looking at one another and saying, 'Hey, we have been here for a while now. Haven't we done enough to warrant a position as a captain?' The one thing that has probably worked in favour for Shreyas is that he has won an IPL as a skipper for KKR in the recent past. That has probably worked in his favour. I wouldn't put any black mark on the fact that he has been a wonderful captain in the IPL.

Also Read | Suryakumar Yadav insists he's 'very happy for Shreyas Iyer' after being sacked as India T20 captain: 'Proud moment...'

He has got a lot of tactics right. But that said, there are team ethos that need to be well in place and well in mark. Axar Patel was the picked choice as a vice-captain. And if the choice of vice-captain cannot step up into being the next captain, then we are going back in time and again, questioning those sorts of things. So, I really hope in terms of solidarity and stability with respect to how these selections are done, are carried forward in the ruthless manner that we have just seen. It's going to be a hard line to follow though," Ashwin said to ESPNCricinfo.

Iyer kicks off his captaincy tenure during India's tour to Ireland for a two-match T20 series, starting June 26, 2026, in Belfast.