Shreyas Iyer named India T20I captain as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earns maiden call-up

India on Saturday announced their squads for the upcoming T20I tours of Ireland and England, the Asian Games in Japan, and the India A tour of Sri Lanka, with Shreyas Iyer appointed captain of the T20 side. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi received his maiden international call-up after his performances in IPL 2026, while Suryakumar Yadav was omitted from the T20I squad and removed from the captaincy.

The T20I squad for the Ireland and England series includes Shreyas Iyer as captain, Tilak Varma as vice-captain, and players such as Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. India will play two T20Is in Ireland on June 26 and 28 before a five-match T20I series against England from July 1 to July 11.

The selection committee cited Shreyas Iyer’s leadership record and recent performances as key factors behind his appointment. Iyer returns to India’s T20 setup for the first time since December 2023. His captaincy credentials include leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and guiding Punjab Kings to the IPL final in 2025. Tilak Varma was appointed vice-captain as part of the team’s leadership structure for the upcoming assignments.

Sooryavanshi’s inclusion comes after a prolific IPL 2026 season in which he scored 776 runs, including one century and five half-centuries. At 15 years and 71 days, he becomes the youngest player selected for an Indian cricket team, surpassing the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who made his international debut at 16 years and 205 days. The teenager has also been named in India’s squad for the Asian Games.

The selection committee also announced that Jasprit Bumrah will miss the Ireland and England T20I tours but will return for the Asian Games squad. Hardik Pandya was not included in the T20I squads as the management focuses on his ODI commitments and fitness management ahead of future international tournaments. Dhruv Jurel was named captain of the India A side for the multi-day matches in Sri Lanka, with Devdutt Padikkal appointed vice-captain.