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Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the decision of the Indian selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar to choose Shreyas Iyer as India’s new T20I captain in place of Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill.
Iyer was announced as the new captain of India after an important meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, June 6. With this decision, T20 World Cup winning captain Suryakumar Yadav was not only removed from the captaincy but was also dropped from the team due to poor form.
Shreyas Iyer has had a great run as India captain in IPL
Shreyas Iyer has got the captaincy after his excellent performance in IPL in the last few years. After leading Delhi Capitals to the IPL final in 2020, the right-handed batsman led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024 and later took Punjab Kings to the final in 2025, where he also scored over 600 runs in that season.
Also Read: “Happy for Shreyas”: Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav break silence after Shreyas Iyer becomes India’s T20I captain
Although Punjab Kings failed to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs, Iyer put in impressive performances as both a batsman and captain. In domestic cricket, Iyer impressed everyone with his captaincy in the shorter formats.
Apart from his leadership, the Mumbaikar has scored a lot of runs in recent seasons. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill had a great season. He scored 732 runs for Gujarat Titans and took his team to the final of IPL 2026.
Sanjay Manjrekar raised questions on India’s captaincy
Sanjay Manjrekar feels that when you look at the long-term plan, there were stronger choices for T20I captaincy than Gill Iyer. Manjrekar also pointed out that India have upcoming T20 matches to play in Ireland and England, and then the T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, so he felt Gill was ‘better suited to take this responsibility.’
Sanjay Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network, “Shreyas Iyer is a very interesting option. He was not getting a place in the T20 team for the last few months. But now he has directly become India’s T20 captain.”
“When you pick a player or make him captain or vice-captain, you also have to make sure that the player fits into the team and has got a solid place in the team, and that’s where I think Shubman Gill has missed the mark because I think Gill has better qualifications than Shreyas Iyer to become India’s long-term T20 captain.”
Why did Shubman Gill lose the captaincy race to Shreyas Iyer?
However, Manjrekar also highlighted a practical side to this decision. Gill is primarily an opening batsman, and India already have strong options at the top of the order, so fitting him into the playing eleven will be a big challenge, but Shreyas naturally fits in the middle order, and that’s where the decision was taken.
Also read: Shubman Gill achieved a big feat, overtook Travis Head and Joe Root during the Afghanistan Test.
The former Indian batsman said, “But how do you fit Gill in the playing eleven because you already have two openers who are performing so well and Suryavanshi as your third option? So, they have gone for a captain whom they can fit in the playing eleven. Because Gill is an opening batsman, he missed that opportunity or that placement, but his time is not far away.”
Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Shreyas Iyer’s incredible progress, but says Shubman Gill remains the better option
Manjrekar also told that Iyer’s career has also seen ups and downs. He last played a T20I in 2023, and even after avoiding domestic cricket he was dropped from the central contract in 2024. But he made a tremendous comeback in domestic cricket and IPL and returned to the ODI team and played a key role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy win in 2025.
He signed off by saying, “When you look at Shreyas Iyer, he has the numbers. He has the leadership and the performances. So, yes, a guy who has been selected because he bats in the middle order, and you can make room for Shreyas Iyer in the future with the next World Cup. With Shubman Gill, it has really weakened the case, but on pure ability, I would say I need a captain and a T20 top-order batsman.” Shubman Gill is more in form, considering that T20s will no longer be played on flat pitches, as you have seen in the last few years.
