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

Indian cricket witnessed a seismic shift on Saturday with Suryakumar Yadav being unceremoniously dumped by the Men in Blue in the T20 format despite the Mumbai Indians star leading them to victory at the T20 World Cup on home soil in March. Shreyas Iyer was widely tipped to succeed 'SKY' in the role after the World Cup, and that indeed turned out to be the case on Saturday, with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and chief selector Ajit Agarkar unveiling the Punjab Kings skipper as India's new captain in the 20-over format.

Also Read | Shreyas Iyer handed India's T20 baton: How the senior batter was elected captain despite a three-year absence

The decision has caused quite the stir among experts and fans alike, especially taking into account the fact that Surya isn't even being retained in the squad as a player after his incredible run as India T20I captain, which concluded with a historic T20 World Cup triumph in which India became the first team to win the tournament on home soil.

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Surya, however, insisted he is "very happy" for Shreyas in his first reaction to Saturday's squad announcement.

"Very happy for Shreyas Iyer. We played a lot of cricket for Mumbai and India together. Most importantly three back-to-back T20I captains for India from Mumbai now and it it very proud moment for all of us at Mumbai cricket," Surya said at the T20 Mumbai League on Saturday while captaining Triumphs Knights MNE against SoBo Mumbai Falcons, which had Iyer sitting on the bench.

Surya smashes 24-ball 48 after being dumped by Men in Blue

The key reason behind Surya's ouster from the Indian T20I team despite his brilliant leadership was his extended lean patch with the bat that began after the 18th season of the Indian Premier League last year.

Barring the five-match T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year and India's opening game of the T20 World Cup against USA, Surya failed to make much of an impact with the bat during this period, his poor form putting other batters – especially the top-order – under a lot more pressure.

Also Read | Shreyas Iyer ‘deserved it for long’, ’tough’ on Suryakumar Yadav: How experts, fans reacted to India’s T20 squads

Surya may have accepted the decision of the team management and the selectors for now and congratulated Iyer, who had last represented India in the format in December 2023, on his triumphant return to the team.

'SKY', however, sent a subtle message to chief selector Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir that he wasn't quite the spent force with the bat that everyone had assumed him to be, by smashing 48 off just 24 deliveries against SoBo Mumbai Falcons, striking at exactly 200.