Indians Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav (PTI photo)
Suryakumar Yadav reacted gracefully to major changes in India’s T20I set-up, expressing his happiness for Shreyas Iyer after the latter was appointed as the new captain for the upcoming Ireland-England series.This development marks a major shift in Indian cricket, with Shreyas replacing Suryakumar as T20I captain. The Mumbai player also lost his place in the team despite leading India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title earlier this year.
Speaking during the draw in the Mumbai T20 League, Suryakumar chose to focus on celebrating his long-time teammate’s achievements.“Very happy for Shreyas Iyer. We have played a lot of cricket for Mumbai and India together.
Most importantly, there are three successive T20i captains for India from Mumbai now, which is a huge proud moment for all of us in Mumbai cricket and everyone should celebrate that.
Suryakumar’s response comes soon after the chief selector was named
Ajit Agarkar
He explained the rationale behind the decision to move in a new direction.“As far as Syria is concerned, it’s obviously difficult having just won the (T20) World Cup. But as happens after most World Cups, we are trying to re-evaluate the best way forward,” Agarkar said.
“(It was due to) partly his form but also given the cycle of the next two years, or just over two years until the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward and as I said, Shreyas is a very worthy leader.”“We discussed it a lot, especially when someone leads you to a World Cup win. It’s not the easiest kind of discussion, but I don’t necessarily think… we would have looked at it at some point.
Now, whether the IPL model dictates it; I’m not sure this is the case. “There were always conversations about it.”The decision comes after a difficult period for Suryakumar. Since becoming India’s full-time T20 captain in July 2024, his batting numbers have declined significantly. His average dropped from 43.60 to 25.88, while his strikeout rate dropped from 168.75 to 152.03.Despite the disappointment of losing the captaincy and his place in the team, Suryakumar’s overall reaction reflects support for his Mumbai team-mate, who now begins a new chapter as India’s T20I captain.