The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee made the bold call to sack Suryakumar Yadav from captaincy despite him leading India to a title win in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
He was also dropped from the squad and Suryakumar’s international career seems to be over. R Ashwin, though, has backed Suryakumar to make his India comeback. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin has backed the former India captain to make a return as a batter. Though he doubts if Suryakumar will be handed a recall even if he performs.
“Where is he going to play? If he shows good form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he can make a comeback, why not? Captaincy is difficult right now. He should make a comeback as a batter. He has two tournaments now. He needs to perform in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and then in the IPL. We cannot close the door on anyone. But the way he was removed from the team, I really doubt it,” Ashwin said.
Shreyas Iyer made his return to the T20I team and replaced Suryakumar as the captain. He was rewarded with captaincy on the basis of his dream run as an IPL captain.
Iyer made a forgettable start to his captaincy career and Ireland whitewashed India 2-0. The Men in Blue suffered a 0-4 defeat against England in the five-match T20I series.
India didn’t lose a bilateral series under Suryakumar
did not lose a bilateral series under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy. Suryakumar captained India to 42 wins in 52 matches. Suryakumar-led India also won the 2025 Asia Cup trophy.
Suryakumar was a surprise pick for the captaincy. He pipped Hardik Pandya, who was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup. Pandya’s fitness issues have kept him away from international cricket since the T20 World Cup. He is expected to make his return against West Indies in September.