A massive storm is brewing over the future of T20I captaincy of India as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee is set to meet this Saturday. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir are likely to talk about leadership roles ahead of a busy calendar of two T20Is in Ireland and five in England. Former chief selector MSK Prasad issued a stern warning against a knee-jerk and emotional decision as the whispers grew that the board may remove Suryakumar Yadav as captain after a long spell of low scores. Prasad said the sacking of the veteran 360-degree batsman at this stage would send the wrong message to the dressing room.
Retaining Stability After World Cup Glory
The main reason cited for not dropping Suryakumar is to maintain the leadership continuity. He led the Men in Blue to a sensational Men’s T20 World Cup title earlier this year. Prasad feels his patchy individual form cannot be ignored so easily due to his role as a tactical anchor.
“If they are sending the first team, I think overlooking Surya is not the right thing to do because he just handed over one more Men’s T20 World Cup to us,” Prasad told IANS. “Removing Surya at this stage is not the right signal. Give him a couple of series, and if his lean patch continues, then you have a deputy to whom you can hand over the captaincy baton.”
Following Suryakumar’s poor IPL 2026, calls for leadership change gained massive traction. Playing for Mumbai Indians, he managed only 270 runs in 13 games with a poor average of 20.77 and strike rate of 147.54.
The Transition Plan: Grooming the Next Gen
Rather than an outright sacking, Prasad urged Gambhir and the selection panel to come up with a strategic long-term transition blueprint. So with Axar Patel having been the deputy till the World Cup win, more focus should shift to finding younger understudies right under Suryakumar. Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma among those in the reckoning.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.
