Shreyas Iyer will officially take over as India's new T20I captain, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, when the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee meets on Saturday (June 6) to finalise squads for the upcoming white-ball tour to UK and the Asian Games in Japan, PTI reported.
The UK will feature two T20Is against Ireland on June 26 and 28 in Belfast, followed by a trip to England for five T20Is and three ODIs starting July 1. The Asian Games will be held in Japan in September-October and the squad is being announced early to meet the deadlines set by the event organisers.
According to the report, Tilak Varma will be named the T20I deputy, while teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will earn his maiden senior team call-up.
Despite leading India to T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, Suryakumar is set to be dropped entirely from the T20I squad due to his extended lean patch with the bat, paving the way for a major transition phase.
Shreyas, who was not a part of the T20 World Cup 2026 squad, is seen as a strong candidate to fill the No. 4 spot in batting line-up. He is being rewarded for being one of the most successful IPL captains, leading KKR to the title win in 2024 besides taking DC and PBKS to the final in 2020 and 2025, respectively. Moreover, his batting form hasn’t taken a hit while captaining three different franchises.
The report also claimed that chief selector Ajit Agarkar will announce two separate squads for the UK tour and the Asian Games.
The BCCI will field its best possible squad even though the continental event overlaps with a three-match ODI series against the West Indies at home.
For Asian Games, Tilak could be seen stepping as captain with Sooryavanshi likely to be a part of that T20 squad. Pacer Prince Yadav and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey could enter the selection fray as well.
It will be interesting to see if Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets a recall at the age of 36. The veteran seamer played a pivotal role in RCB's back-to-back IPL title wins, claiming 45 wickets across 2025 and 2026 editions.
Bhuvneshwar has been brilliant on flat decks and has a good chance of succeeding in English conditions. However, Agarkar-led panel has been prioritizing younger fast bowlers for long-term goals, such as the Los Angeles Olympics and T20 World Cup in 2028.
The committee would reportedly deliberate on whether Bhuvneshwar, who would be nearing 39 in 2028, can be available for the Olympic Games and the T20 World Cup in Australia.
(With PTI Inputs)
