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Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the decision of the Indian selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar to pick Shreyas Iyer as India’s new T20I captain over the Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill.
Iyer was announced as India’s new captain on Saturday, June 6, after a crucial meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. With this decision, the T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav was not just removed as captain but also left out of the team due to poor form.
Shreyas Iyer's excellent IPL captaincy runs earn in India's captaincy
Shreyas Iyer has got the captaincy after a strong run in the IPL over the years. After leading Delhi Capitals to the IPL final in 2020, the right-handed batter guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024 and later took Punjab Kings to the final in 2025, where he also scored over 600 runs in that season.
However, Punjab Kings did not qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs, but Iyer performed impressively as both a batter and a skipper. In domestic cricket, Iyer impressed everyone with his captaincy in the shorter format.
Apart from his leadership, the Mumbaikar has scored many runs in the recent seasons. At the same time, Shubman Gill had a standout season. He scored 732 runs for Gujarat Titans and took his team into the IPL 2026 final.
Sanjay Manjrekar questions India's captaincy call
Sanjay Manjrekar feels that when you look at long-term planning, Gill was a stronger option than Iyer for the T20I captaincy. Manjrekar also pointed out that India is scheduled to play the upcoming T20I matches in Ireland and England, and then the T20 World Cup is also in Australia and New Zealand, so he feels Gill was ‘better suited to take that responsibility.'
Sanjay Manjrekar said on the Sony Sports Network: "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 Shubman Gill has missed out because I think Gill has better credentials than Shreyas Iyer to be India's long-term T20 captain."
Why Shubman Gill lost the captaincy race to Shreyas Iyer?
However, Manjrekar also highlighted a practical side to this decision. Gill is mainly an opener, and India already have strong top-order options, so fitting him into the playing XI would have been a bug challenge, but Shreyas naturally fits into the middle order, and that’s where the call was taken.
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The former Indian batter added, “But how do you fit Gill in the playing 11 because you've got two openers already doing so well with Suryavanshi as your third option? So, they've gone for a captain who they could fit in the playing eleven. Because Gill is an opening batter, he lost out on that opportunity or that appointment, but his time is not too far.”
Sanjay Manjrekar hails Shreyas Iyer’s incredible rise but says Shubman Gill remains better option
Manjrekar also pointed out that Iyer’s career has also seen its ups and downs. He last played T20Is in 2023, and even he was removed from central contracts in 2024 after avoiding domestic cricket. But he made a tremendous comeback in domestic cricket and the IPL and returned to the ODI side and went on to play a key role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy triumph in 2025.
He signed off by saying, “When you look at Shreyas Iyer, he's got the numbers. He's got the leadership and performance. So, yes, a guy who's been picked because he bats in the middle order, and you can have a place for Shreyas Iyer in the future with the next World Cup. With Shubman Gill, that is what actually weakened this case, but on pure ability, I will say that I like Shubman Gill more as a captain and a T20 top-order batter. Considering that the T20S will not be played on flat pitches anymore, like you've seen in the last couple of years.”
