The BCCI Men’s Selection Committee recently appointed Shreyas Iyer as India’s T20I captain, replacing Suryakumar Yadav. He will begin his leadership stint with the tour of Ireland, starting June 26 in Belfast.
While Shreyas has not played a T20I for India since December 2023, his appointment is heavily backed by his stellar franchise captaincy.
The right-hander led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL title in 2024 and guided the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to final in 2025. He also enjoyed strong personal runs with the bat, amassing 498 runs in IPL 2026.
Ahead of the Ireland series, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined that Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah had better credentials to become the T20I captain, but Iyer got the nod because he fits perfectly into the middle order left vacant by Surya.
"Just imagine, someone who could not be in the T20I squad, he comes straight in as a captain. So, this is quite a fascinating case. It is good for Shreyas Iyer, but such captaincy appointments did not happen in the past because only one captain was appointed those days, and they used to think for 10 days for that. It is a very convenient choice, thoda bahut deserving bhi (also a little bit deserving), Shreyas Iyer, so be it," Manjrekar said on the Sony Sports Network.
According to Manjrekar, iconic players often receive special treatment in India. He pointed out that selectors and team management sometimes hesitate to drop these players, even when their form declines.
Compared the situation in India with Australian and English cricket cultures, Manjrekar noted that the fear of public backlash frequently dictates tough selection calls.
"If there is a popular and iconic player, it becomes difficult to drop him at the right time based on cricketing merit. That happens in Australian culture, and in the English culture, here the thinking is, 'What will people say?'. I am not going to reveal his name, but once upon a time, all selectors wanted a player to be dropped, as they felt he had played a lot, but nobody had the courage to tell that player," he remarked.
