Three months after Suryakumar Yadav held aloft the T20 World Cup and joined elites like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, the Board Of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made a massive call on his captaincy future. With the T20I series in Ireland and England looming in a month and a half, the veteran has reportedly been sacked as captain and is set to no longer be considered for selection either.
Why has Suryakumar Yadav been sacked as T20I skipper?
According to a report by The Indian Express, the selectors and the management want to prioritize the future at this stage and keeping in mind Suryakumar’s age of 35, they are looking at a candidate to stick with during the T20 World Cup 2028. Moreover, the right-hander’s form has been a massive concern, headlined by finishing only with 270 runs in 13 games at 20.76 for the Mumbai Indians, who finished 9th in the points table. He did have a decent T20 World Cup 2026, slamming 242 runs in six matches. As a result, Suryakumar’s international career appears to be over, given he is no longer part of their plans in ODIs and Tests either. T20Is has been the Mumbai-born cricketer’s strongest suit as he finishes with 3272 runs in 113 games at 36.35 alongside a strike rate of 162.94. Suryakumar’s last ODI and Test both came against Australia in 2023.
A top BCCI official told The Indian Express:
“The selection committee, BCCI and team management, in consultation with coach Gautam Gambhir, have decided that India should go with a new skipper from here on. Under Surya’s captaincy, the team did win the T20 World Cup but keeping his form and future in mind, they felt it’s time to move on. He won’t be considered for selection, and the decision will be conveyed to Surya soon.”
Who are the candidates to replace Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain?
As per reports, Shreyas Iyer looks to be the No.1 contender to replace Suryakumar as the T20I captain, based on his credentials in IPL, headlined by captaining the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to title victory in 2022.
Rajat Patidar could also be handed the responsibility as he masterminded the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to back-to-back IPL title victories. The likes of Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are also reportedly in the mix.
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