Shreyas Iyer is back in India’s T20 international setup with a major appointment: he has been named the new captain. The national selectors have announced the touring squads for the Ireland and England series, and one of the headline inclusions is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old sensation who has taken the domestic-to-IPL spotlight by storm. Tilak Varma, who had been in the captaincy conversation alongside Ishan Kishan, will serve as vice-captain, while Harshit Rana is also returning after his last competitive outing earlier this February.
Key takeaways
- Shreyas Iyer has been appointed captain for India’s Ireland and England T20I tours.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earns a call-up at age 15 after a breakthrough IPL campaign.
- Tilak Varma is named vice-captain, with Ishan Kishan also previously viewed as a captaincy option.
- Harshit Rana returns to the squad after his most recent appearance earlier in February.
- Iyer’s leadership and batting form have grown since his earlier T20I appearance in December 2023.
Iyer’s return and the captaincy shift
As the squads for the Ireland tour and the England tour were finalized, the selectors also confirmed that Iyer would take over the reins. The move comes in the wake of a decision to part ways with Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20 World Cup-winning skipper, with his recent run of form coming under scrutiny.
In the lead-up to this change, Suryakumar struggled to consistently influence games with the bat for India. His IPL returns in 2026 were also described as lacking the spark expected at the top level, which helped open the door for a new leadership structure.
Iyer, however, was already viewed as the natural choice to step into the role. Although his last T20I appearance for India dates back to December 2023, his standing has climbed steadily since then. In franchise cricket, he led Kolkata Knight Riders to a third IPL title in 2024, and over the following two seasons he has drawn strong praise for his captaincy at Punjab Kings.
His batting fortunes have also improved during the same period. In the phase where India won back-to-back T20 World Cups, Iyer’s IPL output rose significantly, culminating in a career first in 2025 when he surpassed 600 runs in a season. He then continued building momentum and, in the most recent IPL campaign that has just concluded, he added 498 runs, including a maiden century in his final match of the season.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rise and record-making IPL
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s inclusion reflects the rapid acceleration of his stock over the last year. His ascent has now reached international level, with the selectors bringing him into India’s touring group even though he is only 15 years old.
The basis for that faith is his standout IPL season, where he not only produced a high volume of runs but also reshaped multiple benchmarks along the way. He finished with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.31, a run tally that came with a tournament record of 72 sixes. Those numbers powered him to win the Orange Cap, while he also secured both the Emerging Player award and the MVP award.
Squads for Ireland and England series
Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
More to follow…
