Shreyas Iyer and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Agency photo)
Shreyas Iyer was announced as India’s new T20I captain when the men’s senior selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar picked the teams for the Ireland and England tours along with the Asian Games. Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav who has failed to find a place in the team completely.
Tilak Varma has also been promoted as vice-captain in the T20I setup, which doesn’t see many changes from the team that won the T20 World Cup earlier this year.Jasprit Bumrah was not selected for the T20Is against England and Ireland but has been included in the squad for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Mohammed Siraj made way for Bumrah and Prince Yadav in the 15-player squad to participate in the multi-game event.
Both Siraj and Yadav are likely to feature in the ODIs against West Indies which will overlap with the Asian Games.In a notable change, 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi was named in both the squads, with selectors expressing a mixture of excitement and trepidation to see what he has to offer on the big stage.
India’s lineup for Ireland and England
Asked why Iyer was selected and appointed as captain, Agarkar said: “We have seen what Shreyas Iyer has done in different seasons with different teams. He was close to making it to the World Cup squad as well. He is a top candidate with enough experience.”
It’s tough on SKY [Suryakumar Yadav]. Trying to reevaluate after the World Cup; This was the best way forward.”Hardik Pandya, who is undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI CoE, has not been considered for the T20I series as the management, similar to its approach with Bumrah, wants to keep the No. 50-over World Cup all-rounder. “He is part of the ODIs. Like Jasprit Bumrah, the main goal is to see if he can start playing well and stay healthy till the 50-over World Cup,” Agarkar explained.India squad for Ireland vs England T20: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dubey, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Suryavanshi.India squad for the Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (C), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dubey, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun C, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah.