The leadership change had been widely speculated over the past few days, especially as Suryakumar Yadav has struggled for consistency in T20I cricket. His form also dipped during the recent IPL season, which added to discussions around his captaincy future.
Despite the development, Suryakumar quickly returned to action, leading Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in a Mumbai T20 league match against SoBo Mumbai Falcons at the Wankhede Stadium. Speaking at the toss, he addressed the change and expressed support for his successor.
Suryakumar said he was delighted for Shreyas Iyer, highlighting their long association through Mumbai cricket and the Indian team.
“I am so happy for Shreyas for becoming the captain of the Indian T20I team. We have played all our cricket together here in Mumbai and it feels amazing that the last three T20 captains of India have all come from Mumbai,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
Interestingly, Shreyas Iyer has not played a T20I since December 2023, when India faced Australia in a five-match series following the ODI World Cup. In his T20I career so far, Iyer has played 51 matches, scoring 1104 runs at an average of 30.67 and a strike rate of 136.13.
However, his strong performances in the IPL over the past two seasons, both as a leader and batter, have earned him a recall to the national setup along with the T20I captaincy role.
