India’s T20I setup is on the brink of a major overhaul ahead of the upcoming tours of Ireland and England. Shreyas Iyer is set to replace Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain, with the change aligned to India’s long-term planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the next T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Suryakumar’s captaincy tenure, which included leading India to the T20 World Cup title in March, appears to be over. His exit comes after a lean run with the bat, he managed 242 runs in nine innings at the T20 World Cup and endured a disappointing IPL 2026 season, scoring just 270 runs from 13 innings.
Iyer, in contrast, arrives on the back of consistent performances. He guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and has also led Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to IPL finals. The 31-year-old scored 604 runs in IPL 2025 and followed it up with 498 runs in IPL 2026.
The bigger talking point, however, is the likely inclusion of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The Bihar-born batter amassed 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30 in IPL 2026, finishing as the season’s leading run-scorer while also claiming the awards for most sixes, highest strike rate, and MVP. If selected, he would become the youngest player named in an India men’s squad since Sachin Tendulkar.
Before potentially joining the senior team, Sooryavanshi is set to represent India A in a tri-series in Sri Lanka involving Afghanistan from June 9 to 21.
