Suryakumar Yadav shared a hug with Shreyas Iyer just hours after losing the Indian cricket team T20I captaincy. Shreyas replaced Suryakumar as India’s T20I captain ahead of the series against Ireland and England on Saturday. The two cricketers met each other just a few hours later during the T20 Mumbai League match between Triumphs Knights MNE and SoBo Mumbai Falcons. Suryakumar is the captain of Triumphs Knights MNE and although Shreyas did not feature in the match for SoBo Mumbai Falcons, he was present at the ground. The two cricketers greeted each other before the game and shared a hug while they were joined by Rohit Sharma. Later, Suryakumar slammed 48 off just 24 deliveries with the help of 3 fours and 4 sixes.
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[ Indian Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav ] pic.twitter.com/h5tcwp9kmc
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 6, 2026
“I am so happy for Shreyas for becoming the captain of the Indian T20I team. We have played all our cricket together here in Mumbai and it feels amazing that the last three T20 captains of India have all come from Mumbai,” SKY said at the toss.
Earlier, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Shreyas Iyer was a stand-out candidate with the experience to become the new men’s T20I skipper, while admitting it was a tough call to move on altogether from Suryakumar Yadav despite him leading the team to winning the World Cup three months ago.
I honestly don’t know how any person with a sane mind can hate Suryakumar yadav pic.twitter.com/c3ALFczWXH
— Janty (@Utd_janty) June 6, 2026
Suryakumar, 35, has struggled with the bat in recent months, managing only 242 runs in nine T20 World Cup innings, with his unbeaten 84 against the United States the lone standout. His form dipped further in IPL 2026, where he scored just 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 as Mumbai Indians finished ninth in the ten‑team points table.
With Shreyas taking over, Suryakumar has been totally omitted from the squads for tours of Ireland, England and the Asian Games. Iyer, 31, last played a T20I in December 2023 but boasts of strong captaincy credentials in the IPL. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, guided Punjab Kings to a runners‑up finish in 2025, and steered Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020.
“I mean, with regards to Shreyas, obviously, we’ve seen what he’s done over the last few years, leading different franchises, obviously, won once, finals twice, and probably had a tougher season this year after a great start. So we’ve seen everything that a captain possibly can. His own performances have been really good.
“He was quite close to getting in that World Cup squad as well. Obviously, with Surya still there, there was no room for him. So he is, in my opinion, a standout candidate with enough experience now having led in the T20 format. This is obviously a different challenge,” said Agarkar in the press conference at BCCI HQ on Saturday.
(With IANS inputs)
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