Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his surprise after Shreyas Iyer was appointed as India’s T20I captain but admitted Iyer was given the preference over Shubman Gill as he is a middle order batter. 

Manjrekar said Shubman Gill could have been another option to take over the captaincy baton from Suryakumar Yadav but as India already has openers like Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Iyer was preferred ahead of Gill for the leadership role. Gill also scored 732 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 while leading GT.

“Yes, I was surprised. I am trying to understand why that choice was made. Shubman Gill is another player with leadership pedigree. He has captained India as well and had a very good IPL. But he is an opener in T20 cricket. Where do you fit Shubman Gill? Shreyas Iyer bats in the middle order, so there is space there. Suryakumar Yadav is the captain, so perhaps they felt there is a defined role for Shreyas in the side. His leadership has been impressive,” Manjrekar said in an interaction moderated by Sony Sports Network.

Manjrekar added that Iyer’s impressive performances in the IPL played a hand in his appointment as India’s T20I captain. Iyer had led KKR to glory in IPL 2024 and also led Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the final of the tournament in 2020 and 2025 respectively.

“I think whatever happens in the IPL has a tremendous impact on everything – whether it is 50-over cricket, leadership or T20 cricket. So, Shreyas Iyer’s appointment has a lot to do with his IPL performances. Although I will say that last IPL, he was actually in better batting form than this season. I think it will be a little challenging, only because he was out of the India T20I squad. He deserved to come back. Last season he should have been picked after the phenomenal IPL he had, both as a batter and as a captain,” he added.

India will take on Ireland in the first T20I on Friday at Belfast.