Which player’s name is being said to be at the forefront in the race for captaincy of the Indian T20 team? What is the biggest concern the selectors have about Sanju Samson? How many runs did Sanju Samson score and at what strike rate in IPL 2026? After Suryakumar Yadav, which players’ names are in the race for captaincy?
Mumbai: As soon as the IPL ends, the biggest discussion in the cricket world is who will be the next captain of the Indian T20 team. Despite winning the T20 World Cup, captain Suryakumar Yadav’s recent poor form has become a threat to his captaincy. According to reports, earlier the names of Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson were at the forefront to replace Surya, but after IPL the equations have changed. It is believed that some things may go against Sanju. For example, despite becoming the top scorer for Chennai Super Kings in IPL by scoring two centuries, his team could not reach the playoffs. Also, as an opener, he could not perform well in important matches.
The name of Shubman Gill, who took Gujarat to the IPL final, has again come to the forefront in the captaincy race. Apart from them, names of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are also being discussed. Sanju’s name was raised for captaincy after winning the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award in the T20 World Cup. Even after the World Cup, when Suryakumar’s bat remained silent in the IPL and Sanju scored two centuries for Chennai, the fans were sure that he would be the next captain. But, according to a report in ‘Times of India’, the selectors and senior BCCI officials are still worried about Sanju’s ‘lack of consistency’ in the T20 format.
Akshar Patel was the vice-captain of the team under the captaincy of Suryakumar in the World Cup. But his performance as captain and player of Delhi Capitals in IPL remained lackluster. Therefore, it is now believed that his name will not be considered for captaincy. Now in the eyes of the selectors, Ishan Kishan, who was the initial captain of Hyderabad, Shubman Gill, who took Gujarat to the finals and Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer, who performed brilliantly in the beginning of the IPL. The Times of India report says that Sanju may benefit from his stellar performance in the World Cup, but the lack of consistency in his career has not completely satisfied the top brass of BCCI. Let us tell you that in this season Sanju had scored 477 runs for Chennai Super Kings at an average of 43.36 and strike rate of 165.63.