Suryakumar Yadav was sacked as the India captain and dropped from the squad despite him leading the Men in Blue to a title win in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Following the title win, Suryakumar announced that he was eyeing the next T20 WC and the Olympic gold medal. But the Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee had other plans and he was dropped. Shreyas Iyer, who hadn’t played a T20I since December 2023, was appointed the new captain. Iyer-led India are yet to register a win, have suffered 6 out of their seven completed matches.
Following India’s forgettable tour of the UK, sources have told Times Now that the doors are not completely shut on Suryakumar and he can still make his return to the T20I team.
The former India T20I captain will have to follow the due process and score heavily in domestic cricket to force his way back into the national team.
The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh and many others made their comebacks after being away from the national team for years. Suryakumar could be given a second chance if he performs well while playing for Mumbai.
Why was Suryakumar Yadav dropped?
Speaking to the media after Suryakumar’s removal, Agarkar blamed his form and said that it was the “best way forward” going into the 2028 T20 World Cup.
“With regards to Surya, obviously, it’s a tough one, having just won the World Cup, but as it happens, after most World Cups, we try and reassess what the best way forward is. Partly his own form, but also looking at the next two-year cycle, or a little bit more than two years now till the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward. Like I said, Shreyas is a well-deserving candidate,” the chief selector said.
Iyer made his captaincy debut in the two-match T20I series against Ireland. Ireland pulled off a heist and defeated the visitors 2-0. Iyer-led India failed to win a game in England and lost the five-match T20I series 0-4.
