Less than four months after winning the T20 World Cup at home, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has been removed from the captaincy and dropped from the squad as well, with in-form Shreyas Iyer taking charge of the team in the shortest format for the next two-year cycle.
However, the biggest talking point from the BCCI announcement was the inclusion of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.
If the Samastipur youngster makes his debut against either Ireland or England, he will become the youngest player to represent India’s senior men’s team, surpassing the record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan in Karachi on November 15, 1989.
At just 15 years and 71 days old, the left-hander has become the toast of the nation after sweeping almost every major award in this year’s IPL, including the Most Valuable Player and Best Emerging Player honours. It was only a matter of time before Sooryavanshi earned an international call-up as the clamour for his inclusion grew louder with every innings he played for Rajasthan Royals.
He finished as the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2026, scoring 776 runs, including one century and five half-centuries, at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. India will tour Ireland for two T20Is on June 26 and 28, followed by a five-match T20I series against England from July 1 to 11.
Suryakumar’s indifferent form since the T20 World Cup appears to have ended his stint as captain. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer’s purple patch with the bat and his impressive captaincy record over the past two years — leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and Punjab Kings to the final in 2025 — made the selectors’ decision easier.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, after announcing the squads in Mumbai, said, “With regards to Shreyas, we have seen what he has done over the last few years, leading different franchises. He won the title once, and then handled a tougher season this year after a great start. We have seen everything that a captain possibly can. His own performances have been really good.”
Attacking middle-order batter Tilak Varma has been named vice-captain, while Lucknow Super Giants pacer Prince Yadav has also been selected for the Ireland and England series.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will miss the T20I series but is expected to return for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The team management is keen to manage his workload and keep him fit for the Test and ODI formats.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is part of India’s ODI squad for the Afghanistan series later this month, has been left out of the T20 squads, while Harshit Rana returns to the set-up after recovering from injury.
Shreyas Iyer replaces SKY as T20 captain, teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked for India squad
