R Ashwin admits he is “a little apprehensive” about the way Suryakumar Yadav has been sidelined from India’s T20I squad only weeks after lifting the World Cup. The off-spinner, speaking on an ESPNcricinfo video show, believes the move sets a standard future panels may feel compelled to follow.
Key facts first.
• Suryakumar captained India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title in April.
• He scored 242 runs at 136.72 during that campaign, decent rather than dominant.
• His IPL season that followed produced 270 runs at 147.54, again solid but short of his own peaks.
• Two months later he finds himself out of the squad, and Shreyas Iyer, who has not played a T20I since 2024, takes over as captain.
“Look, I think it’s a very interesting precedent,” Ashwin said. “I just want to put myself in Suryakumar Yadav’s shoes and for an instance think how he would be feeling at this point of time. I’m sure every player has got the right to be gutted about being left out of the side and that’s fair if he’s feeling bad about it.”
Ashwin’s central concern is the speed – and finality – of the call. Suryakumar’s numbers dipped, no debate there, yet he remains the most recent World Cup-winning captain.
“But just the whole, the way it’s been done, I’m a little apprehensive about the whole thing,” Ashwin continued. “Because in my head I’m thinking, okay… I’m just putting myself in Surya’s shoes and thinking about it. ‘Okay, sure, my batting form has let me down over the last 18 months or 15 months or whatever it is. I haven’t been in the prime form that I could have been. But then I managed to win a T20 World Cup for the country.’”
That achievement, the bowler argues, should have bought the 35-year-old more latitude. “Didn’t have the greatest of great World Cups as a batter but surely, just like everyone else in the team – the coach, the vice-captain, the best-performing batter, the best-performing bowler – he’s also quite been the best-performing skipper, right? He’s played his part.”
Selection panels are often accused of being too loyal; Ashwin thinks this is the opposite extreme. “Can we put big stalwarts in his shoes? Has there been an instance where a captain who’s won the T20 World Cup has been left out without any ultimatum? I’m sure there’s been communication,” he said. “I have no doubts with regards to that. But this is quite a landmark day in selection. Because this will be taken as some sort of a precedent when the next time such a thing ever comes up.”
Enter Shreyas Iyer. The 31-year-old has built a strong IPL résumé: title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024, runners-up with Punjab Kings a year later. Yet his reintegration into international T20 cricket, now as skipper, is not straightforward.
“Very recently, we had this conversation on Shreyas Iyer deserving to get into the T20 side,” Ashwin noted. “I’m all for that. But I’m again, wondering… If I am one of the other 14 members in that T20 World Cup-winning side, I’m looking at one another and saying, ‘hey, we’ve been here for a while now. Haven’t we done enough to warrant a position as a captain?’”
The off-spinner concedes Iyer has tactical nous. “The one thing that’s probably worked in favor for Shreyas is that he’s won an IPL as a skipper for KKR. I wouldn’t put any black mark on the fact that he’s been a wonderful captain in the IPL. He’s got a lot of tactics right.”
Even so, the decision leapfrogs others in the queue, particularly Axar Patel, who served as vice-captain during the World Cup. Ashwin hinted at possible dressing-room discomfort, though stopped short of claiming unrest.
Analytically, the selectors appear to have prioritised batting form – ironic given Iyer’s absence from T20Is – and perhaps leadership style. The call could mirror moves seen in other sports: cut early, cut clean, move on. Whether it proves shrewd or premature will be assessed in the next series, where India face South Africa away, then Australia at home.
For Suryakumar, a return remains plausible. Domestic T20s and the next IPL will double as trials. His strike-rate and range still outstrip most peers, and Indian white-ball cricket has a history of quick U-turns when form spikes.
For now, Ashwin’s take lingers: a “landmark” juncture that might redefine how Indian captains, even successful ones, are judged.
