Shreyas Iyer was named India’s T20I captain on Saturday (June 6), replacing World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and wonderkid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi found a place in the squad for the twin tour of Ireland and England.
At 15 years and 71 days old, Sooryavanshi becomes the youngest ever player to be picked in the Indian cricket squad, surpassing the long-standing record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar.
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Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days when he made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi on November 15, 1989.
India will travel to Ireland for two T20Is (June 26 and 28), followed by a five-match T20I series against England between July 1 and 11.
Shreyas makes a comeback
Shreyas has returned to the national T20 side for the first time since playing a match against Australia in Bengaluru on December 3, 2023.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) selectors met in Mumbai to pick India T20I squads for the UK tour and Asian Games 2026 in Japan and also India A squad for multi-day matches squad for Sri Lankan tour.
Shreyas will lead the T20I teams in Ireland, England and in Asian Games, while young left-handed batter Tilak Varma has been named the vice-captain.
What chief selector Agarkar said
“We have got a bit more time for the next World Cup, and his (Shreyas) performances as captain having won (the IPL) with KKR and a couple of good seasons with PBKS. He was very close to always being there in the team but could not find the spot,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told the media after announcing the squads for various tours.
Shreyas’ impressive leadership credentials in the IPL — leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to title in 2024 and Punjab Kings (PBKS) to final in 2025 — along with two seasons of consistent outings with the bat, prompted the selectors to zero in on Shreyas to replace T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Suryakumar.
Agarkar said Suryakumar’s dipping form over the last two seasons dictated their decision to remove the Mumbaikar from the T20 captaincy.
“You look at the form in the last two years but he was doing well as a captain (of India). We did not deliberate a lot but at some stage we were going to look ahead,” Agarkar added.
Agarkar on Sooryavanshi
Sooryavanshi’s inclusion was a foregone conclusion after the 15-year-old bagged the Orange Cap in IPL 2026, scoring 776 runs with a hundred and five fifties at a strike rate of 237.30 for Rajasthan Royals.
Agarkar was impressed with the Bihar boy Sooryavanshi’s game-changing abilities.
“We have seen what he can do. Even in the (IPL) playoffs, we saw he almost single-handedly carried his team.
“For a young kid to be batting in a high-pressure environment, he can be a game-changer. It’s commendable,” said the former Indian pacer.
No place for Hardik
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is in India’s ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan later this month, did not feature in any of the teams.
“The main objective is to see if Hardik can play ODI cricket and be fit as there is also an ODI World Cup ahead. It also gives (Nitish) Reddy a look in,” said Agarkar.
Seasoned pacer Mohammed Siraj will tour England and Ireland but will miss the Asian Games as the Hyderabad man will be playing the home ODI rubber against the West Indies.
All-rounder Harshit Rana too has returned to the India set-up after missing the whole of the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders owing to an injury.
Wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel will lead India A in the two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka.
Devdutt Padikkal will be the vice-captain, while Ruturaj Gaikwad has also found a place in the squad.
India squad for Ireland and England T20 series
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India squad for Asian Games
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India A squad for multi-day matches in Sri Lanka
Dhruv Jurel (captain and wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal (vice-captain), Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh, Saransh Jain, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur, N Jagadeesan, Aman Mokade, Sheikh Rashid, Zeeshan Ansari.
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