3rd December 2023. This was the date that Shreyas Iyer last played a T20I game for India. On that day in Bengaluru against Australia, the Mumbai batter scored 53 off 37 balls with a strike-rate of 143.24. He was in the squad for the New Zealand series just before the T20 World Cup 2026, but couldn’t find a spot for the tournament.
All of this would paint a grim picture for the 31-year-old when it comes to future selections with India touring Ireland and England in June and July. But the entire dynamic has changed and Shreyas looks all set to return to the team. And not just as a squad member as the skipper of the Indian team in the shortest format of the game.
Sources told India Today that Shreyas will replace his Mumbai teammate Suryakumar Yadav to usher in a new era for the Indian team post the T20 World Cup success. And now, the prophecy has become a reality with Shreyas being given the role.
“Shreyas absolutely deserves it. With the bat. Also his performances as captain, having won it once at KKR, couple of really good seasons with PBKS. It was unusual he wasn’t part of the T20I squad, but now that he’s found a spot, he has earned it,” said Agarkar.
Ricky Ponting, who worked closely with Shreyas, detailed why he thought the 31-year-old was going to be India captain one day in T20Is.
Pointing out to his maturity as a batter and player, the former Aussie skipper’s prediction has now become a reality.
“There’s a reason I spent as much money at the auction as I did a couple of years ago (on Iyer). He’s a ripping guy, very mature player now, very mature leader. More often than not keeps his emotions in check on the field. The respect he has from his players is second to none.”
“The moment he stands in front of the group and speaks, not a single eye ball leaves a single word he says.”
“Great to see him back in the Indian one day team. I really think there’s a bigger, brighter future for him in the Indian T20 team as well,” said Ponting
And the call comes on the back of a sensational turnaround for Shreyas. So let’s take a look at the areas he improved, which made him an undeniable option for the selectors.
A BATTING SOFTWARE UPGRADE
Till 2023, Shreyas seemed like any other T20I batter. It was not like that he wasn’t special as his game against the spinners was always on point. But with the constant evolution of the white-ball game, you need to constantly evolve your game.
Even when KKR won the IPL title in 2024, it seemed like Shreyas’ batting software wasn’t updated. His strike-rate that season was 146.86, hitting 34 boundaries and 14 sixes and scoring 351 runs from 15 matches.
These days, when a batter hits 10 and 11 sixes in a single game, those stats just aren’t good enough.
So Shreyas decided to free up a few GB in his approach and decided to hit the software update button.
What followed has been sensational. 604 runs at a destructive strike rate of 175.07 in IPL 2025 as he guided PBKS to the IPL final. In 2026, the same streak continued despite Punjab crashing and burning at the end.
Shreyas scored 498 runs at a strike rate of 168.81, finishing off with his maiden IPL hundred at the end. His number of boundaries and sixes have gone up over the last two seasons.
IPL 2025: 43 boundaries and 39 sixes
IPL 2026: 39 boundaries and 30 sixes
Apart from this, he became the chase master. Since 2025, he has scored seven fifties and a hundred in the IPL while chasing, drawing comparisons with Virat Kohli.
This is exactly what India needed when it came to replacing someone like Suryakumar, who was at a time, the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world.
Shreyas would fit into the side without an issue at No.4.
BRAVE CAPTAINCY
One of the things that stood out during Suryakumar’s tenure as T20I captain was how he was proactive and fearless with his decisions.
For India, continuity will be key, and Shreyas fits into that mold as well. The PBKS skipper is never one who walks away from pressure and ensures that his players are given the responsibility at key points in the game.
This was evident in the IPL 2024 season when he allowed Harshit Rana to go up against a rampaging Heinrich Klaasen in a thriller in Kolkata.
He has also been good at handling big-name bowlers, which was seen with his effective use of Mitchell Starc, Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen during his time with KKR and PBKS.
The Indian team will see him given a whole different class of bowlers with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy and more. Here Shreyas’ captaincy will be clutch and allow him to take India into a new era.
While it remains to be seen how Shreyas will work as India captain, he has clearly shown that adaptability and reinvention are his calling cards.
The remontada seems to be complete and all India will need is captain Shreyas firing from the get-go.
– Ends
