Will Suryakumar Yadav announce his retirement after T20I snub?
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Suryakumar Yadav was sacked as India’s T20 captain.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squads for India’s tour of Ireland and England T20Is on Saturday, June 6. They also named a 16-member squad for the Asian Games scheduled in Japan.
Shreyas Iyer was named the new captain for India in T20Is, replacing the ICC World T20 winning captain Suryakumar Yadav. Tilak Varma was appointed his deputy in the format. Some key inclusions were those of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prince Yadav. Harshit Rana has returned to the international setup after an injury layoff.
Meanwhile, the T20I mainstays – Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh; continue to be a part of the squad.
Suryakumar Yadav has not just lost his captaincy though, he has also exhausted his chances in the team as a batsman.
What lies ahead for Suryakumar Yadav?
Suryakumar Yadav featured in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL)2026, where he scored merely 270 runs in 13 innings, averaging 20. His performance in the IPL was uncharacteristically underwhelming for his standards.
Suryakumar contributed with 242 runs in 8 innings in the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He averaged over 40, however, most of the runs came against teams like USA, Netherlands and Zimbabwe. He failed to contribute in the semi-final and the final too.
For India, Surya debuted in 2021 at the age of 30, and has become the third-highest run-scorer in the T20I format. He has played 113 matches making 3272 runs, averaging 36, at a strike rate over 160.
When the BCCI chief selector was asked about the exclusion of Suryakumar Yadav from the team, he said that it is tough for a player of his stature; but ultimately all the calls are made in the best interest of the Indian team.
While there are no official confirmations regarding Surya announcing his retirement from the format, however, the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 seems to be the last time he was seen representing the Men in Blue. With his dipping form and the pool of players in queue, it is very unlikely that he will find a spot in the squad again.
The Mumbai Indians batter is currently seen playing in the Mumbai T20 League, where he is captaining Triumph Knights MNE. On the day of announcement of the new captain of India, Suryakumar scored 48 off 24 deliveries in the same league.
Suryakumar Yadav reacts on Shreyas Iyer being appointed as T20I captain
Surya congratulated Shreyas Iyer for the new role, saying “Very happy for Shreyas Iyer. We played a lot of cricket for Mumbai and India together. Most importantly 3 back to back T20i captains for India from Mumbai now and it it very proud moment for all of us at Mumbai cricket and everyone needs to celebrate that.”
In a warm gesture, he took to Instagram wishing the best for the Indian T20I squad for the challenges ahead.
Who is the new T20I captain of India?
Shreyas Iyer has been announced the new T20I captain of India.
When is India’s next T20I series?
India will play Ireland in a two-match T20I series starting from June 26.
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Cricket runs in the blood of Indians — and that’s something she truly believes in. A law student with a lifelong connection to the game, she has followed cricket passionately since his school days. Like countless young fans, she first experienced the sport on the field before deepening his understanding through constant watching, reading, and conversations around the game. Writing became a natural extension of that passion, bringing a “Pavilion Perspective” to his work — capturing how fans experience matches through their own lens.