Ajit Agarkar breaks silence on replacing Suryakumar Yadav with Shreyas Iyer as T20I captain, says…

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has officially announced team India’s squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and England. The same squad will play in the Asian Games, which will be held in Japan in September.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed star Indian player and one of the finest batters of all time, Shreyas Iyer and dropped Suryakumar Yadav from the captain and even from the squad as well. Reflecting on this decision to remove Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain, Ajit Agarkar said, “As far as Surya is concerned, it was a difficult decision. His form hasn’t been good, and we’ve been monitoring the next two years. We feel this is the best way forward.“

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Shreyas Iyer showcased a brilliant batting performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Meanwhile, former captain Suryakumar Yadav failed to show his magic and continued his poor form. However, speaking on appointing Shreyas Iyer, Ajit Agarkar said, “As for Shreyas, we’ve seen him captain different teams over the past few years. He’s even won titles. His own performances have been very good. He was even close to being selected in the World Cup squad. In my opinion, he was a stand-out candidate.“

Agarkar explained that Surya’s name wasn’t discussed. He said, “There was a lot of debate about it, especially after he recently won the World Cup. We would have discussed it at some point. Shreyas is playing so well, it made our job easier,” Agarkar added, “I spoke to a lot of people, especially when it came to a captain who recently led us to a World Cup win.“

Team India squad for Ireland and England tour: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi.

Team India squad Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.