The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee made the shocking call to remove Suryakumar Yadav from captaincy despite his success in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Suryakumar became only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to lead India to a title win. Despite the title win, India sacked him from captaincy and dropped him from the team. The selectors recalled Shreyas Iyer to the T20I team after three years and also appointed him the captain.
“We have seen what he’s done over the last few years, leading different franchises. He won once, had a tougher season this year after a great start. He’s seen everything that a captain possibly can. His own performances have been really good. 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 stand-out candidate with enough experience now. This will obviously be a different challenge,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said during the press conference.
The selectors continued to ignore Shubman Gill and there was no place for him in the T20I team. Not to forget, the selectors had tipped him to become the new all-format captain.
Gill, who looked set to play the 2026 T20 World Cup, was removed as the vice-captain and dropped from the T20I before the World Cup.
Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill
Former India commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has shared his take on Gill and revealed the likley reason behind his absence. Speaking on the Sony Sports Network, Manjrekar said that being an opening batter saw Gill miss out. India have plenty of openers in their line-up.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, is the newest addition to the line-up. “They have gone for a captain who they could fit in the playing XI. Because Gill is an opening batter, he lost out on that opportunity or that appointment, but his time is not too far,” the noted commentator said.
Gill has 869 runs in 36 T20Is. His tally includes a century and three half-centuries. Gill has captained India to 4 wins from 5 matches as the captain.
