Suryakumar Yadav is set to be removed as India T20I captain and from the team as well.
However, his extended poor form with the bat has reportedly led to Suryakumar Yadav’s removal as India’s T20I captain, and he is also likely to lose his spot in India’s T20I team as well.
Dainik Jagran reported that Iyer, who is the only captain to lead three different teams to the IPL final and win the IPL 2024 as Kolkata Knight Riders captain, will captain the Indian team in the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England.
Iyer has been associated with Punjab Kings in the IPL since 2025, and in the last two editions, he has scored more than 1,000 runs.
While PBKS failed to qualify for the playoffs this IPL 2026, Iyer amassed a total of 498 runs, with a strike rate of 168.81, and scored one century and five fifties.
It has also been reported that Mumbai Indians’ star Tilak Varma will be India’s new vice-captain in T20Is. Axar Patel served as the vice-captain of India during the recent T20 World Cup 2026, but the BCCI selection committee has chosen Tilak Varma for a leadership role, looking towards the future.
Dainik Jagran also reported that India head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted Sanju Samson to be named India’s T20I captain, but the BCCI selectors and the BCCI were not convinced. However, all three parties later agreed on Iyer’s appointment as captain and Tilak’s as vice-captain.
Samson's nomination for captaincy was not convincing to selectors because of his batting inconsistencies. He did play three key runs in the T20 World Cup 2026, helping India win the title, but selectors believed it was inappropriate to choose him as captain based on only on a few innings.
Interestingly, there was no mention of Rajat Patidar, who has led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to back-to-back IPL wins. In fact, Tilak's appointment to vice-captain suggests that Patidar will likely be excluded from the upcoming series as well.
(Dainik Jagran report)