Rumours are rife that Shreyas Iyer will replace Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I captain due to latter's prolonged lean patch with the bat. Earlier this year, Surya led the Men in Blue to a record third T20 World Cup title win but he failed to live up to the expectations.
Suryakumar, who couldn’t score a T20I half-century last year, smashed 49-ball 84* in India’s campaign opener against the USA. However, his form faded again as the tournament progressed. He ended the global showpiece with 242 runs in 9 innings at an average of 30.25 and a strike rate of 136.72.
The 35-year-old carried his poor form into the IPL 2026, where he scored 270 runs in 13 innings at a low average of 20.77 for the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Amid the speculations, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has thrown his weight behind Suryakumar Yadav. While conceding that the board can move on from Surya as captain, Ashwin feels omitting him from the squad entirely lacks the "human touch".
"It wasn't easy for Suryakumar Yadav to enter the IPL 2026 season after winning the T20 World Cup. He was also about to become a father. Is there anything bigger than becoming a father? It was expected that his intensity would come down, but one shouldn't forget that he was the T20 World Cup-winning captain," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat'.
“Where have we lost the human touch? Where has it gone? An Indian captain who won the tournament, you could have had a bit of human touch. I accept that he didn't perform with the bat, but give him some time. Give him one final chance. Remove him from captaincy, okay,” he added.
Ashwin further stated that Suryakumar deserves better communication and a few more series to regain his form.
“How is it fine? I understand that he hasn't been among the runs. But he won the World Cup. You have a way of doing things. If you don't have the faith that Suryakumar will make your side, then you tell him that he can't be the captain. But you tell him that time will be given to him,” Ashwin said.
“I was reading somewhere that this is the ruthless mindset India needs to have. Just like Australia. Let me tell you, in Australia, this doesn't happen. There is solid communication. Suryakumar deserved to be in the team. If he doesn't perform in the next two or three series, then the selectors can tell him that we are looking past you,” he remarked.
