Massive Change : Shreyas Iyer Appointed India New T20I Captain, Tilak Varma His Deputy ; Suryakumar Yadav Sacked As Skipper As Well As Player ; 15-Year Old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Included

Picture : @BCCI/X

Winds of change swept across India’s T20I set-up as Shreyas Iyertook over the captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav, and wonder kid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi found a place in the squad for the twin tour of Ireland and England.

Presenting #TeamIndia‘s newest T20I captain 🇮🇳

Congratulations to Shreyas Iyer as he takes the helm in the shortest format of the game 👏@ShreyasIyer15 pic.twitter.com/frfAXAOkTA

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 6, 2026

India will travel to Ireland for two T20Is (June 26 and 28), followed by a five-match T20I series against England between July 1 and 11.

Shreyas has returned to the national T20 side for the first time after a match against Australia in Bengaluru on December 3, 2023.

“We have got a bit more time for the next WC, and his (Shreyas) performances as captain having won (the IPL) with KKR and a couple of good seasons with PBKS. He was very close to always being there in the team but could not find the spot,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told media after announcing the squads for various tours.

Shreyas’ impressive leadership credentials in the IPL – leading KKR to title in 2024 and PBKS to final in 2025 – along with two seasons of consistent outings with the bat prompted the selectors to zero in on Shreyas to replace T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Suryakumar.

Presenting #TeamIndia‘s T20I squads for the tours of England & Ireland 2026 🇮🇳#ENGvIND | #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/f84kSSAIDf

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 6, 2026

Agarkar said Suryakumar’s dipping form over the last two seasons dictated their decision to remove the Mumbaikar from the T20 captaincy.

“You look at the form in the last two years but he was doing well as a captain (of India). We did not deliberate a lot but at some stage we were going to look ahead,” Agarkar added.

Tilak is new vice-captain
Middle-order batter Tilak Varma will be Shreyas’ deputy, while pacer Prince Yadav, who had an impressive season for Lucknow Super Giants, was drafted for the series against England and Ireland.

Agarkar said Tilak can learn more about the job of leading a side while being the deputy to Shreyas, a clear indication of his growth in the white ball format as a key member.

Bumrah to miss England, Ireland tour
Lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah will miss the T20I series against England and Ireland, but he will come back for the Asian Games, to be held in Aichi–Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.