India won the T20 World Cup 2026 under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. However, the Mumbai batter hasn’t been able to lead by example as consistency remains a work in progress. In 2025, he struggled heavily with the bat and many experts called for his alternative in the playing XI, but the team management backed Suryakumar. In the T20 World Cup, he made only 242 runs in nine innings and later, in the IPL 2026, the MI batter failed to live up to the expectations.
Batting at three, he made just 106 runs in four matches and following which, the BCCI are contemplating whether Suryakumar is the right fit to lead the national team in the Olympics 2028 and the T20 World Cup later that year. Speaking on the development, a BCCI source stated that the cricketer will certainly lead the squad in the upcoming T20 series against Ireland and England, but a call will be made soon after that.
"Obviously, Surya is now leading the team. But he also has to ensure that as a batter, he maintains a level of consistency in his performances. Obviously, he will lead in the UK but after that, discussions going forward till 2028 could be purely performance-based," a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Who can replace Suryakumar as captain if he is dropped?
Axar Patel is the vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad and in case Suryakumar is dropped, the all-rounder could take over. However, his own spot in the playing XI isn’t guaranteed at times. He was dropped from the match against South Africa in the T20 World Cup, with the team management preferring Washington Sundar ahead of him.
In such a scenario, Hardik Pandya could be handed the captaincy baton. He has led the team in the past, but was removed as the team management wanted to manage his workload. Given that the team now has many youngsters in the mix, Hardik could be the ideal candidate.
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