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Suryakumar Yadav has reacted gracefully to the major changes in India’s T20I setup, expressing his happiness for Shreyas Iyer after the latter was named the new captain for the upcoming Ireland and England series.The development marks a significant shift for Indian cricket, with Shreyas replacing Suryakumar as T20I captain. The Mumbai batter also lost his place in the squad despite having led India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title earlier this year.Speaking during the toss at the Mumbai T20 League, Suryakumar chose to focus on celebrating his long-time teammate’s achievement.“Very happy for Shreyas Iyer. We played a lot of cricket for Mumbai and India together. Most importantly 3 back to back T20i captains for India from Mumbai now and it it very proud moment for all of us at Mumbai cricket and everyone needs to celebrate that”.Suryakumar’s response comes shortly after chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained the rationale behind the decision to move in a new direction.“With regards to Surya, obviously it’s a tough one having just won the (T20) World Cup. But as it happens after most World Cups, we try and reassess what your best way forward is,” Agarkar had said.“(It was due to) partly his own form but also looking at the next two-year cycle, or a little bit more than two years now till the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward and like I said, Shreyas is a very deserving captain.”“We deliberated on it a lot, especially when someone has led you to a World Cup win. It’s not the easiest sort of discussion to have, but I don’t necessarily think… at some stage, we were going to look at it. Now, whether IPL form dictated it; I’m not so sure that’s the case. There were always conversations around it.”The decision follows a difficult period for Suryakumar. Since becoming India’s full-time T20 captain in July 2024, his batting numbers have dipped considerably. His average has fallen from 43.60 to 25.88, while his strike rate has dropped from 168.75 to 152.03.Despite the disappointment of losing both the captaincy and his place in the side, Suryakumar’s public reaction reflected support for his Mumbai teammate, who now begins a new chapter as India’s T20I captain.
