Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Shubman Gill had better credentials to become India’s new T20I skipper but termed Shreyas Iyer’s appointment as the captain as an “interesting choice”.
On Saturday, the BCCI announced Shreyas Iyer as India’s newest T20I skipper, replacing Suryakumar Yadav.
Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to the T20 World Cup title this year, was sacked as skipper. He was also omitted from the India T20I squads to face Ireland and England in the upcoming series.
‘Very interesting choice’: Manjrekar on Iyer
“Shreyas Iyer is a very interesting choice. He wasn’t able to get a place in the T20 squad for the last few months. But now, straightaway, India’s T20 captain.
“When you pick a player or make him the captain or vice captain you’ve got to also make sure that that player fits into the squad and has got a confirmed place in the squad and that is where I think should been Shubman Gill has missed out because I think Gill has better credentials than Shreyas Iyer to be India’s long-term T20 captain,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network.
Shreyas Iyer has consistently proven his credentials as a captain. He led Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in 2024, and in the same year, he led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title. After KKR released him, Punjab Kings (PBKS) acquired Iyer for ₹26.75 crore ahead of IPL 2025. He then led PBKS to the IPL 2025 final, where they lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Shreyas Iyer, however, has not played a T20I since December 2023 when India faced Australia in Visakhapatnam. However, he has showcased consistency with the bat in the IPL, most notably scoring 604 runs from 17 matches in the 2025 season.
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, is currently the captain of Gujarat Titans in the IPL and the Indian team in Tests and ODIs. Gill, however, is no more a regular in T20Is because of his dip in form, having last played against South Africa in December 2025. He was omitted from India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad.
Manjrekar stated India’s upcoming away series against Ireland and England as the reasons that the BCCI should have named Gill as the shortest format skipper. “T20S will now be played away from India, Ireland, England, two venues and eventually the World Cup will be in Australia and New Zealand, and I believe Gill was better suited to take that responsibility, but that’s only a cricketing thought.
“But how do you fit Gill in the playing 11 because you’ve got two openers already doing so well with Sooryavanshi as your third option? So they’ve gone for a captain who they could fit in the playing 11. Because Gill is an opening batter, he lost out on that opportunity or that appointment, but his time is not too far,” he said.
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