File photo of India head coach Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar© AFP
The captaincy succession plan in Indian T20I cricket team is currently one of the most talked-about subjects in Indian cricket currently. Suryakumar Yadav led the team to a memorable triumph in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. However, his own form as a batter has not been good. In the IPL 2026, Yadav scored 270 runs in 13 games at an average of just over 20. Since becoming the India T20I captain in July 2024, Yadav has an average of 25.88 with six half-centuries and four ducks. It’s a sharp drop from his pre-captaincy numbers. Before captaincy, his average was 43.60, with four centuries and 20 half-centuries.
Keeping that in mind, several reports have claimed that the BCCI may be thinking to find a new successor to Yadav well in advance ahead of the 2028 T20 World Cup. A report in TOI has claimed that Yadav’s succession plan can be put on hold if there is a lack of unanimity.
bcci chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir are two crucial cogs in this leadership decision. Several candidates’ names like Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Axar Patel are being discussed.
“Ajit is a very strong chief selector, one of the strongest to have been in charge. He has taken some tough calls with an eye on future and he, along with his panel, has a plan in place for the T20I captaincy and the way forward. That’s the reason Shreyas was appointed vice-captain in ODIs and was in the squad for the last bilateral series India played before the T20 World Cup,” says a well-placed source.
“Now is he the coach’s choice? Or does he have someone else in mind? And will that someone be the selectors’ choice? These are the important points of discussion. Axar Patel was the vice-captain for the World Cup, Ishan Kishan has age, form and leadership credentials; and then there is Sanju Samson’s name doing the rounds. Samson has recency bias on his side but his inconsistency has not pleased key stakeholders.
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