Mumbai: India’s 2026 T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav is set to lose his place in the team. The decision has been agreed to in-principle by the important stakeholders – national selectors as well as the head coach. Top BCCI officials have been kept in the loop.
The move has not been straightforward. The selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir had apprehensions about Surya’s T20I future based on his poor form leading up to the World Cup and during the mega event – his performances didn’t carry weight except for the opening match against the USA (84*). Surya wasn’t named among the 30 shortlisted players for the 2026 Asian Games, a decision taken as far back as January.
It is learnt that the selectors were still keenly watching Surya’s batting in IPL, looking for any signs of revival in form with Mumbai Indians. Towards the second half of IPL it became clear that Surya, the 360-degree powerhouse, was past his best. In a tournament where many Indian batters were dominant, Surya managed only 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and a strike rate of 147.54.
Once Surya the batter wasn’t an automatic pick, Surya the captain also became a casualty with the selectors keen to try a new leader for the next T20 World Cup cycle in place of the 35-year-old.
Shreyas, Ishan being considered
The front-runner to take Surya’s No.4 position as well as captaincy is Shreyas Iyer. However, the decision-makers are yet to find unanimity on this. “It’s important that the head coach is all-in on the new name as the two have to eventually work together as team management,” a BCCI official told HT.
Iyer hasn’t been part of India’s T20I plans for two-and-half years. But a section of the selection committee sees strong merit in Iyer’s credentials. He has grown to become one of the best middle-order batters in the format, comes with IPL-winning pedigree and would help in leadership continuity, being the ODI vice-captain to Shubman Gill.
The other name being considered is Ishan Kishan. The left-handed wicket-keeper batter has had an outstanding six months at the top level of cricket, including IPL where he led Sunrisers Hyderabad when Pat Cummins was injured. Tilak Varma is still being groomed as a future leader, having been named captain for the upcoming India A ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka.
This would mark the second successive instance where India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain does not continue into the next cycle. Rohit Sharma retired after the 2024 win in the Caribbean.
India’s team for the two-match T20I series in Ireland as well as the five-match T20I series in England will be picked later this week. The 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is being strongly considered for an international break on the back of his extraordinary batting in IPL. Sooryavanshi will first be travelling with the India A team to Sri Lanka.
