Shreyas Iyer was confirmed on Saturday as India’s T20 captain, taking over from Suryakumar Yadav, who lost his place in the side as well.
Shreyas will take charge from the away series versus Ireland and England from later this month, while also leading the side at the Asian Games in Japan from September. The squads will also feature teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who received his maiden call-up to the national squad.
The wonder kid’s inclusion, following the selection committee’s meeting in Mumbai, was on the cards since the 15-year-old’s explosive batting for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Middle-order batsman Tilak Varma has been elevated to vice-captain, taking over from spinner all-rounder Axar Patel.
Seamer all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and young pacer Prince Yadav, who impressed this year for Lucknow Super Giants, also find place, while pacer Harshit Rana returned to the squads after a knee injury layoff.
Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav — from the 2026 T20 World Cup-winning squad — were omitted, and Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah rested, underlining that India’s focus in T20Is is on the build-up to the Los Angeles Olympics and the World Cup in 2028.
The appointment of Shreyas, who last played a T20I in December 2023, follows his impressive record as captain, especially in the IPL. In the recent years, he led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third title in 2024, besides Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to runners-up finishes in 2020 and 2025, respectively.
He was also instrumental in Mumbai’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title triumph in the 2024-25 season.
“We’ve seen what he (Shreyas) has done over the last few years, leading different franchises,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said after the selection committee meeting at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday.
“He was quite close to getting into that T20 World Cup squad as well, but with Surya still there, there was no room for him. He, in my opinion, was a standout candidate with enough experience now. This will obviously be a different challenge.”
Outgoing skipper Surya said he was “very, very happy for Shreyas”. “I’ve played a lot of cricket with him (in Mumbai). The most important thing is that three back-to-back Mumbai captains have gone on to lead India,” Surya said on Saturday.
Vaibhav ‘youngest’
Going back to Sooryavanshi, who’s with the India ‘A’ squad for the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, became the youngest player picked in an India men’s squad since Sachin Tendulkar in November 1989.
If the left-hander makes his debut in Ireland or England, he will become the first India men’s player to make an international debut before turning 16. Sachin was 16 when he made his India debut.
Sooryavanshi’s parents, too, will be with him on the tours, and the BCCI will bear their travel expenses.
Jaiswal in for Kohli
Agarkar also confirmed that Virat Kohli will miss the ODI series against Afghanistan owing to a hamstring injury, with Yashasvi Jaiswal taking his place.
Kohli could be fit for India’s ODI assignment versus England that begins on July 14, but there’s no clear timeline yet from the team physio on his expected return, Agarkar said.
On the other hand, all-rounder Hardik Pandya is undergoing a fitness assessment at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, while Rohit Sharma is also expected to report there soon.
Both of them are in India’s squad for the Afghanistan ODIs, beginning in Dharamsala on June 13.