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New Delhi: Shreyas Iyer is set to replaceSuryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain of the Indian team. The selectors will relieve Suryakumar from captaincy duties when they next pick the squads for the Ireland and England tour.

According to a Times of India (TOI) report, the decision-makers in the BCCI have run out of patience with Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form and want to bring some freshness for the next cycle, which will begin with two T20Is in Ireland, followed by five games in England.

If there is no late change in decision, Iyer could lead the T20I team. The Men in Blue have a packed T20I calendar ahead of the T20 World Cup 2028 and LA Olympics in the same year. As of now, Suryakumar’s captaincy tenure is likely to be over, and his place in the T20I setup as a batter is still not confirmed.

He has repeatedly expressed his desire to lead the team for the next two years, but the management is unconvinced by his batting form. Suryakumar has led India to a historic World Cup triumph, but his batting performance remained below average in the tournament. He has scored just 242 runs in nine innings of the T20 World Cup 2026. 84 of those runs came in the opening match of the tournament against the USA.

A well-placed BCCI source has told TOI that Suryakumar is dealing with fitness problems from the last IPL season, during which he batted and fielded with a “taped right wrist”. According to the report, Surya regularly had his right wrist taped during the 2026 T20 World Cup after placing cotton pads on it ahead of batting practice.

A poor form with the bat, wrist problems and his age factor could ultimately influence the BCCI’s decision on the T20I captaincy. Iyer is currently leading the race for the captaincy role due to his stellar leadership role in the IPL. He led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title in 2024 before captaining Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a runners-up finish last year. Iyer last played a T20I match in December 2023.