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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have already announced the India National Cricket Team squad for the upcoming Ireland and England T20I series and also for the Asian Games 2026. Shreyas Iyer has been named as the new T20I captain, replacing T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, with Axar Patel also removed from vice-captaincy duties.
Tilak Varma has taken over the vice-captaincy role for the upcoming three series. However, after the Southpaw was appointed as Shreyas Iyer’s deputy, former chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth has taken a dig at the current selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir for removing Axar Patel as the vice-captain. Axar Patel was the vice-captain for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
How did you look past him [Axar Patel]- Kris Srikkanth over the vice-captaincy switch
The decision to make Tilak Varma as the vice-captain has been surprising for everyone as the Southpaw has no prior experience of captaincy, and Axar Patel has been leading the Delhi Capitals side in the last two seasons of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) and has done a decent job as a captain of the franchise.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, he said, "Axar Patel was the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning team, and he is still in the team. How did you look past him and go for Tilak Varma as vice-captain? I can't understand the logic behind this move. Tilak Varma hasn't even captained a side in the IPL, whereas Axar Patel has been captaining the Delhi Capitals."
He further added on Cheeky Cheeka, "Tilak Varma didn't have a deadly IPL either. He played a few good knocks but wasn't consistent. It's stunning that he was made vice-captain straightaway."
Will Washington Sundar play as an all-rounder?
Kris Srikkanth has also mentioned the Gujarat Titans (GT) all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has been added to the team, and should have been dropped from the side for the upcoming tours in Ireland and England, as he has not been bowling much in T20 cricket.
He has rarely been seen bowling in IPL 2026, as Washington Sundar has bowled only 9.1 overs in 17 IPL 2026 games, with the GT only using him more for his batting prowess in the middle order. Kris Srikkanth is also surprised by the call of Ravi Bishnoi over Krunal Pandya and believes that the latter should be added.
Krunal Pandya could have easily been picked- Kris Srikkanth
"Washington Sundar doesn't deserve a place in the team. He doesn't even bowl for GT and is playing as a middle-order batter. So he is a stand-by middle-order batter for India as he's not bowling at all. He doesn't bowl for GT and rarely bowls even for India. So it's a question mark as to how Sundar is a certainty in the side as an all-rounder," said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
"From where did Ravi Bishnoi suddenly come into the team? He was not even on the radar and didn't play half the matches for RR itself. Krunal Pandya could have easily been picked instead of Bishnoi. In fact, Krunal should have come in as an all-rounder either for Sundar or Bishnoi," stated Srikkanth.
