India’s T20I captaincy race has taken an interesting turn after reports started circulating about Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir wanting wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson to replace outgoing Suryakumar Yadav as the next captain of the T20 side. However, opinions are divided between Gambhir and the selection committee.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection team rather wants Shreyas Iyer to takeover from Suryakumar Yadav, given the former’s great work as captain in the Indian Premier League. Agarkar and co want Iyer to guide India through to the next cycle.
Notably, Shreyas Iyer has guided three different teams to IPL finals over the last 6 seasons and winning once in 2024 with the Kolkata Knight Riders. The very next year, Iyer took the Punjab Kings to their first final in more than a decade but lost to eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru by just 6 runs.
Back in 2020, Iyer had captained the Delhi Capitals to their first-ever finale but lost to the Mumbai Indians. All of these factors have made him a favorite among the selection committee but there is a catch.
Reports have suggested that Gambhir has certain issues about handing the reigns to Iyer. This stems from their time together at KKR as captain and mentor. Shreyas Iyer’s public comments about not receiving enough credit for the title win reportedly raised eyebrows within the management.
Therefore, Gautam Gambhir’s choice for the leadership role is Sanju Samson who had a fantastic outing in India’s successful ICC T20 World Cup 2026 defense. Samson had proved his worth by scoring 321 in just 5 innings at a strike rate of 199 which also earned him the Player of the tournament award.
With Gautam Gambhir adamant about Samson taking over and the selection panel wanting to rather have Shreyas Iyer taking the charge, it will be interesting to see if the two parties are able to find common ground. Other options include Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma.
Despite the on-going confusion, everything is expected to get clear when the selection committee announces India’s T20I and ODI squad for tours of Ireland and England.
India will play 2 T20s in Belfast before crossing borders to take on England in a 5-match T20I and 3-match ODI series over the next two months. It should be noted that the team management has moved on from Suryakumar Yadav who won’t even be considered for selection in the team.
