While there is uncertainty about which teams will make the cut for the play-offs, the Indian Premier League this season has made one thing clear – the days of Suryakumar Yadav as the national team captain are drawing to a close.
It might seem incredulous to be searching for a replacement for a skipper who won the T20 World Cup a few months back - but the consensus is India won the World Cup despite Suryakumar’s lack of runs.
The runs have been drying up at an alarming rate for two seasons – just four T20I fifties since the start of 2025 – as bowlers have found numerous ways to counter an unorthodox batting style that once took Suryakumar to the No1 spot in T20 rankings.
His batting woes have reached catastrophic levels in the ongoing IPL and there are concerns about a long-standing wrist issue as well which is rumoured to be inhibiting his batting.
At 35, Suryakumar is unlikely to be considered for the next T20 World Cup. India’s next T20 assignments are in Ireland and England in June-July. It should come as no surprise if India select a new captain either before or after the tour of the UK.
Here we take a look at players who could become the next India T20 captain.
Sanju Samson
The wicketkeeper batter is the most obvious choice to lead the national side. He was part of the victorious World Cup team and scored successive match-winning fifties, including the final, to help India defend their T20 title. At 31, he has age on his side and should be at the peak of his powers by 2028 – the year of the next T20 World Cup and cricket’s re-entry in the Olympics. He has continued that form in the IPL, where he looks poised to take over as captain of Chennai Super Kings as well. He can play as a wicketkeeper batter or purely an opener.
Shreyas Iyer
The middle order batter has long been considered the best captain India has not yet had. A proven performer at ICC tournaments – albeit ODIs – Iyer’s fitness woes have kept him away from the spotlight at inopportune moments, especially when he could have emerged as a serious contender for the top spot. He has shown his leadership and T20 batting credentials in successive IPL seasons. Iyer, 31, won the IPL at Kolkata and has now transformed Punjab Kings into a serious T20 outfit. However, he has not been part of the T20 national team for almost three years and did lose the trust of the management earlier in his career, leading to a period in the wilderness.
Shubman Gill
Up until last year, the 26-year-old top order batter was poised to become the all-format captain of the national team. After being elevated to Test and ODI captaincy, only T20 remained. But he was unceremoniously dumped from the T20 team ahead of the World Cup. Credit to Gill, he took the setback in his stride. He is among the top run getters in the IPL this season and has taken his Gujarat side to the brink of play-offs qualification. A real long term prospect who seems destined to get the captaincy at some point. Now is as good a time as any to give him the responsibility. It would also put all formats of the national team under a unified leadership.
Hardik Pandya
An integral member of India’s last two World Cup winning sides. However, the all-rounder is crumbling under pressure in the cauldron that is the Mumbai Indians dressing room. Seems to not have the trust of a number of senior Mumbai and Indian team players and does not even have the results to silence critics either – Mumbai have once again been knocked out of the play-offs race fairly early. His batting has definitely lost its edge and does not come across as indispensable, as he was a season or two back. Still, Pandya is India’s best fast-bowling all-rounder and would have earned his national captaincy if it were handed to him.
There are other contenders as well, although not as strong. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been seen as a potential leader but his fitness is a concern and he is unlikely to be available for every assignment. All-rounder Axar Patel too has shown captaincy potential but might not be an automatic selection for the next T20 World Cup that takes place in Australia and New Zealand.
