Eyes on the future: Shreyas Iyer likely to replace Suryakumar Yadav as India T20I captain

New Delhi: selectors may alleviate Suryakumar Yadav The duty of the India T20I captain is to meet after IPL 2026 to select the national team squad. TimesofIndia.com understands that key decision-makers have lost patience with the right-hander’s bat tilt and are looking to inject some freshness into the next cycle, starting with two T20Is in Ireland and then five matches in England. Unless you change your mind later, Shreyas Iyer Not just returning to the T20I set-up but doing so as captain.India is facing a packed T20I calendar in preparation for the 2028 World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympics in the same year. As of now, Suriya’s days as captain appear to be over and it remains to be seen whether he will continue as a batsman, in his only format for the country. Although the 35-year-old has repeatedly expressed his desire to continue as captain for the next two years, key figures are not convinced by his batting average.

In his last assignment, Suriya led India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title and finished with 242 runs in 9 innings; 84 of which came in the team’s opener against the United States. Barring that outing, the right-hander has struggled in high-pressure situations, a pattern that has marked his recent run in the Indian team.

Surya has been out of form since assuming the captaincy for a minimum period in July 2024 and could only perform consistently in the T20I series against New Zealand in January this year. Since taking over as captain, Surya has managed just 932 runs in 45 games and has endured a long slump.Have a problem with your wrist?

Sources in the BCCI and Team India revealed that the right-hander has been avoiding wrist injuries and overcoming the pain and discomfort that comes with it. Since last season with the Mumbai Indians, he has kept a bandage on his right wrist while batting and fielding and has avoided drills that apply direct pressure.While tape and padding were not consistent during the game, they became a common sight during the T20 World Cup. Just before batting, he would call the team physician, Dr. Rizwan Khan, who would rush to the locker room to get cotton pads and brown tape to stabilize his wrists. At one point, before Surya started knocking on the door, both men paid careful attention to their wrists. This scene is repeated in multiple locations, away from the camera. When assistant coach Ryan Ten Duchard was asked about the training session during a mixed media zone interaction, he denied it, saying: “It’s probably normal wear and tear.”

While Suriya enjoyed a high win rate (76.92%) as captain and had multiple titles to his name (2025 Asia Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup), his poor performance with the bat, wrist and age forced the think tank to look elsewhere.