Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra shared his views on the start of Shreyas Iyer’s India T20I captaincy tenure and refused to judge him based on the performance of only one or two series.

This comes after India was whitewashed by Ireland in a T20I series for the very first time, in Shreyas Iyer’s debut as India captain. Then India has lost two of three T20Is, with one being rained out, against England in the ongoing five-match series.

This includes a humiliating 125-run loss to England in Nottingham in the third T20I, where India was bowled out for 76. Now India will need to win the 4th and 5th T20Is to level the series 2-2 and avoid another series defeat.

Shreyas' captaincy shouldn't be evaluated too quickly, according to Aakash Chopra, who pointed out that the Men in Blue have lost several important players and that he was handed the position with a long-term outlook.

"It shouldn't be judged so quickly because things have changed. Suryakumar Yadav was the captain earlier, and now you have made Shreyas Iyer the captain. There is no Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, or Nitish Kumar Reddy. Not that Reddy was playing in the World Cup, but there have been changes.

Even Varun Chakaravarthy wasn't available in one series. So, when you look at it from that perspective, you feel it's too early to judge, and why should it be judged so early, as your path is very long? You are thinking about the World Cup. That's in 2028,” Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.

"So, to make any change today in haste because we feel we need to change, it won't be the right thing to do. If we start judging Shreyas Iyer's captaincy based on the fact that the start hasn't been good, then we will never build a team," he added.

On the other hand, Chopra stated that he wanted Suryakumar Yadav to continue as India's T20I captain for the series against Ireland and England. He added that Shreyas Iyer needs to be given a longer run once he has been appointed the skipper.

"Personally, I felt Suryakumar Yadav should have been allowed to captain in one or two more series—that Ireland series and this England series. Then we could have said that we want to move away. It would have been right had that off-ramp been given.

If you have not done that and given Shreyas Iyer a chance, stay with him for some time. It's not a good thing if we start running here and there very early. I am not going to judge Shreyas' captaincy based on the performance in one or two series," Chopra said.

Shreyas Iyer, who had last played a T20I in 2023 before he was appointed India captain, has an excellent record as skipper in the Indian Premier League.  He won the IPL 2024 as Kolkata Knight Riders skipper and has taken Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the IPL final as well.