Sanju Samson to be new Indian captain in T20 format? BCCI selectors haggle between two Malayali players

MUMBAI: Suryakumar Yadav will most likely be stripped of the captaincy role from the T20 national team. The selectors are considering removing Suryakumar Yadav due to his poor batting form, including in the IPL. It is learnt that Suryakumar will be dropped from the team for the tours of Ireland and England after the IPL. The selectors are set to meet soon to announce the team for these tours. Earlier, reports had emerged that Shreyas Iyer would replace Suryakumar Yadav. Now, it is being reported that Malayali star Sanju Samson is also being considered for the Indian captaincy.

Sanju's excellent performance in the IPL, along with his experience in captaining Rajasthan Royals, made him a contender. Sanju won the best player of the tournament in this year’s Twenty20 World Cup and is in stunning form for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Sanju has been in the Indian team since the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup. Sanju has scored 1399 runs in 62 matches so far.

Although Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer is more successful as a captain, his absence from the Twenty20 International format gives the Malayali player a high chance to replace Suryakumar. Iyer last played a Twenty20 match for India on December 3, 2023. Therefore, it is estimated that returning to the shortest format and being selected as the captain will be too much pressure for the seasoned batsman.