Three months after he led India to the T20 World Cup title on home soil, Suryakumar Yadav has been removed as the captain and is unlikely to find a place in the side going forward. This comes ahead of the tours of Ireland and England starting later this month.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, in consultation with the team management and selection committee, will appoint a new captain for the new cycle.
“The selection committee, BCCI and team management, in consultation with coach Gautam Gambhir, have decided that India should go with a new skipper from here on. Under Surya’s captaincy, the team did win the T20 World Cup but keeping his form and future in mind, they felt it’s time to move on,” a top BCCI official told
“He won’t be considered for selection, and the decision will be conveyed to Surya soon.”
The Indian team will be playing two T20Is in Ireland before five in England.
Surya’s form with the bat was a big concern and he has endured a prolonged run of poor form over the last two years, with his fortunes plummeting in the 2026 IPL season as well. While he finished his season with a half-century against the Rajasthan Royals, Surya only managed 270 runs in 13 innings, averaging 20.76 this season.
Even as he led India to their third T20 World Cup title in March, Surya’s batting has faced intense scrutiny. He was handed India T20I captaincy after Rohit Sharma retired from the format post the World Cup win in the West Indies in 2024.
In March this year, he had told this newspaper about his outlook on his own middling performances.
“Since I took captaincy I never paid attention to personal things — I always had 14 more people with me, and looking after them is just as important. The team was winning, I knew I was going in the right direction, and I knew my runs would come. In 2024, that catch changed my life. Now, after winning this World Cup as captain, I feel my life will change again.”
