Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy debut was lackluster, after the defeat against Ireland, he joined Virat, Gill and Pant’s unwanted list.

Lucknow/Belfast: For Shreyas Iyer, the first match as captain of the Indian T20 team was not memorable. In the first T20 match played in Belfast, India had to face defeat by 34 runs against Ireland. With this victory, Ireland defeated India for the first time in T20 international cricket.

After winning the toss, Shreyas Iyer decided to bowl first. Batting first, Ireland scored 182 runs losing 9 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, chasing the target of 183 runs, the Indian team was reduced to 148 runs in 18.5 overs.

Iyer became the fourth Indian to lose in the first T20 match of captaincy

With this match, Shreyas Iyer made a record in his name, which no captain would want to make. He has become the fourth player to lose his first T20 International match as Indian captain.

Earlier, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill also could not register victory in the first T20 match of their captaincy. Now Shreyas Iyer’s name has also been included in this list.

These players also faced defeat at the beginning of their captaincy

First of all, in the year 2017, Virat Kohli took command of the T20 team after Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His first match as captain was against England in Kanpur, in which India had to face defeat.

After this, Rishabh Pant captained for the first time in the home T20 series against South Africa in 2022, but it also started with defeat for him.

At the same time, Shubman Gill was given the captaincy on the Zimbabwe tour in 2024. In the first match played in Harare, the Indian team was defeated by Zimbabwe. Now in 2026, Shreyas Iyer has also become a part of this unwanted list.

Indian player who lost his first T20 match as captain

Virat Kohli – against England, Kanpur (2017)
Rishabh Pant – vs South Africa, Delhi (2022)
Shubhman Gill – vs Zimbabwe, Harare (2024)
Shreyas Iyer – vs Ireland, Belfast (2026)
After winning the T20 World Cup, it started again with defeat

This was the first T20 international match of the Indian team after winning the T20 World Cup 2026 title, but the team could not start the new campaign with a win.

Interestingly, a similar development was seen in 2024 also. At that time, after winning the T20 World Cup, India had lost its first T20 match to Zimbabwe. Shubman Gill took over the captaincy of the team in that match.

Also read: Do you know that history was created on June 11, Team India won its first ODI International victory on this day.