India men’s head coach Gautam Gambhir is reportedly in favor of Sanju Samson becoming the next T20I captain. According to PTI, the BCCI selectors are not in favor of him and Ishan Kishan getting the job because they doubt whether they can be ‘consistent for a prolonged period of time.’
That leaves only Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma as the potential candidates for replacing Suryakumar Yadav. The report said Gambhir has his ‘reservations’ about Shreyas, who he worked with in a successful, title-winning campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024. At that time, there were murmurs about Shreyas feeling that Gambhir’s presence as the team mentor overshadowed his contribution to the triumph.
The space has opened up after the BCCI’s reported
decision to move on from the incumbent Suryakumar Yadav.The 2026 T20 World Cup-winning skipper has lost his batting form over the past couple of years, which made his place in the starting 11 vulnerable and eventually untenable.
According to multiple reports, Shreyas is the leading candidate to take over. As Suryakumar’s stocks have dipped, Shreyas has led KKR to the title and Punjab Kings to a final, while also significantly improving his batting to suit the needs of the format. One report earlier in the day said that Shreyas was chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s first choice, having been earmarked for both ODI and T20I captains for a long time.
Tilak Varma ‘left-field’ choice
As it stands, Tilak seems the only valid competition for Shreyas. The left-hander had a good T20 World Cup after shifting down to the lower-middle-order in the second half of the tournament.
While Shreyas has the experience, Tilak has his age working for him — at just 23, he could sort out the long-term future of the team. He’ll also captain the India A team in the upcoming tri-series against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, which would be a big test of his credentials.
