Ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is his first choice to succeed Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain, according to former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. He added that despite his fitness concerns, T20Is are the format in which Bumrah has been able to dedicate himself the most.
According to rumors, Suryakumar's lacklustre IPL 2026 campaign and worries about his age and fitness may terminate his otherwise fruitful tenure as T20I captain, putting Team India on the brink of a major captaincy change.
According to recent sources, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma are two of the top candidates for the vice-captaincy position, while Shreyas Iyer has emerged as the front-runner to become India's next T20I captain.
Manjrekar feels that Bumrah is being left out of the leadership discussion because of issues with fitness and task management. He made the case that Shubman Gill ought to be considered as well, citing Australia's upcoming T20 World Cup and the potential value of Gill's experience and captaincy qualifications.
“It doesn’t make sense to Suryakumar Yadav, because you are talking about the T20 World Cup, quite the distance away now. Jasprit Bumrah is my first choice. Let us not dwell too much on his fitness and injuries, because this is the T20 format, where he can commit himself more.
So, I believe in T20Is, he will be happy to captain, plus the Mumbai Indians might be looking at him as the future leader. The other person who has put himself in contention now is Shubman Gill," Manjrekar said on his Instagram.
He also backed Shubman Gill to make his way back into the Indian team, given that the next T20 World Cup is set to be played in Australia and New Zealand in 2028.
“We have to remember one thing: the next T20 World Cup isn’t going to be in India, and a lot of T20Is are going to be played outside India. That’s where people like Shubman Gill, with certain batting fundamentals, become an important player in T20Is," Manjrekar added.
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