Suryakumar Yadav’s days as India’s T20I captain are likely numbered as BCCI selectors are likely to move on from him as they sit to pick squads for upcoming assignments after the IPL 2026. One of the key reasons for Surya’s likely removal has been his lean patch with the bat in his captaincy tenure.
As per the Times of India report, key BCCI decision makers are out of patience as Suryakumar Yadav struggles with the bat and want some freshness in the Indian team as they look towards the future. India is set to play 2 T20Is in Ireland, with a full series in England after the IPL 2026.
And the candidate to replace him as India’s T20I captain is Shreyas Iyer. Iyer had been terrific as captain in the IPL, being the only skipper to lead three different franchises to IPL finals. He won the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and took the Punjab Kings to the final in the 2025 IPL.
India has a jam-packed T20I schedule as they prepare for the 2028 World Cup and the LA Olympics. Surya's days as captain appear to be finished, and it remains to be seen if he will continue to play as a batter in the sole format in which he represents his country.
While the 35-year-old has often voiced his wish to be captain for the next two years, the guys in charge are unimpressed by his batting performances.
Suryakumar Yadav recently led India to a T20 World Cup 2024 win, scoring 242 runs in nine innings, including the best score of 84 against the USA. Barring that knock, the skipper struggled to come good in pressure situations with the bat.
Suryakumar took over as India's T20I captain in July 2024 and has managed only 932 runs in 45 games with 6 fifties to his name and a strike rate of 152.03.
And the root of his poor form is reportedly a dodgy wrist. As per the Times of India report, several sources in the BCCI and the Indian team revealed that Suryakumar Yadav has been playing with a painful wrist.
He avoided exercises that put direct pressure on his right wrist and batted and fielded with it heavily wrapped since the previous season with the Mumbai Indians. During the T20 World Cup, the taping and padding became a common sight, although they were not uniform among competitions.
He would call the team's physician, Dr. Rizwan Khan, just before a batting practice, and he would go to the dressing room to collect cotton pads and brown tape to fix the wrist. In one case, the two gave the wrist careful attention before Surya could begin to knock. Away from the cameras, the scene was replayed at other locations.
While Surya has a high victory record as captain (76.92 percent) and several titles (2025 Asia Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup), his poor batting performance, problematic wrist, and age are prompting the think tank to consider elsewhere.
There were and are leadership alternatives in Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, but Iyer appears to be ahead because of his achievements in the IPL across three seasons with various organizations.
(Times of India report)
