Shreyas Iyer: ‘Will not live in anyone’s shadow’, Shreyas Iyer’s big statement after becoming T20 captain

By Samira Vishwas On Jun 8, 2026

After getting the captaincy of the Indian T20 team, Shreyas Iyer made it clear that he is not going to change his identity. He said that he will remain the same person who progressed while playing cricket amidst the tough competition in Mumbai. Iyer also said that he never believes in working under anyone’s shadow.

BCCI on Saturday appointed Shreyas Iyer as India’s new T20 captain. He took this responsibility in place of Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar had led India to the T20 World Cup in March, but the selectors decided to hand over the captaincy to Iyer keeping in mind the next World Cup cycle.

I will not live in anyone’s shadow: Shreyas
During an event in Mumbai, Iyer gave his first reaction regarding captaincy. He said that despite getting the new responsibility, his thinking and personality will not change. Iyer said, ‘I don’t need to change my personality. I will remain the same as I was before. I will not try to be like anyone else or live in anyone’s shadow.

The 31-year-old batsman said that while playing cricket in a city like Mumbai, he learned to face challenges. According to him, almost every child in Mumbai dreams of representing the Mumbai team, so the competition there is extremely tough.

Gambhir-Shreyas pair will work together again
The pair of Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir will once again work together in the Indian team. Earlier, both of them had worked with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. At that time Iyer was the captain and Gambhir was the mentor of the team. KKR won the title that season, but Gambhir got major credit for the team’s success while Iyer’s leadership was less discussed. However, Iyer then took over the captaincy of Punjab Kings and took the team to the IPL final. This performance became the biggest argument in favor of his captaincy.

Iyer said that his outlook has always been focused on victory. He said, ‘Since childhood, I have liked challenges. Be it cricket or any other sport, competition makes you better and gives you confidence to take responsibility. He described captaincy as an honor as well as a big challenge. According to Iyer, he will fully enjoy this new responsibility and will try to take the team to new heights.

The first assignment of the Indian team under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer will be a 2-match T20 series against Ireland this month. After this, the Indian team will field a five-match T20 series on the England tour in July and then the Asian Games.