Iyer set to be India’s new T20I captain for UK tour
Shreyas Iyer will formally replace Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20 captain when the national selection panel meets here on Saturday to finalise squads for the white-ball tour of the UK and the subsequent Asian Games in Japan.
The tour of UK will feature a couple of T20 Internationals against Ireland on June 26 and 28 in Belfast followed by a trip to England for five T20Is and three ODIS beginning July 1.
The Asian Games will take place in September-October in Aichi-Nagoya and the squad is being announced early to meet the deadlines set by the event organisers.
It is expected that young Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma will be the new vice-captain, while 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will earn his maiden senior team call-up.
As PTI had reported on Wednesday, Suyakumar is not only being sacked as India captain despite winning the T20 World Cup earlier this year, he is also being dropped from the squad for his poor form over the last 18 months during which he is suspected to have played with a wrist injury.
The 31-year-old Iyer, who was not a part of the T20 World Cup squad, is expected to take on the No.4 slot in the batting line-up.
He is being rewarded for being one of the most astute IPL captains, having taken three different franchises (Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings) to IPL finals, winning the trophy once.
Leading three different set-ups to the title round is no small feat and he is the only IPL captain to do so, an achievement that inspires confidence in his leadership.
Add to it, his batting form has not dipped while captaining and the only blip in his run would be this year’s free fall by Punjab Kings during the second half of the IPL after starting out rather well.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will announce two separate squads for the UK Tour and the Asian Games set to be held in Japan in September-October.
The BCCI will field its best possible squad even though the event clashes with a bilateral white-ball home series against the West Indies at the same time.
For Asian Games, Tilak Varma could be seen leading the side with Sooryavanshi likely to be a part of that T20 squad.
Some new names could enter the fray, including pacer Prince Yadav, and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, who is also in the Test and ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan starting on Saturday.
Will Buvneshwar Kumar get a recall?
While the selectors have been firm on moving on from Mohammed Shami, it will be interesting to see if Bhuvneshwar Kumar, after a 28-wicket haul in the Indian Premier League, gets a recall at the age of 36.
Bhuvneshwar has been brilliant on flat decks and has a good chance of succeeding in English conditions. However, with Agarkar, the philosophy has always been looking at the bigger picture.
The committee would look to deliberate on whether Bhuvneshwar, who would be nearing 39 in 2028, can be available for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and the T20 World Cup in Australia in the same year.
