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India's back-to-back T20I series defeats against Ireland and England have raised serious questions over Shreyas Iyer's captaincy. However, former India batter Wasim Jaffer believes that it is far too early to judge the new captain and feels the entire team should share the responsibility for the poor results, not just Shreyas Iyer.
India failed to win a single completed T20I under Shreyas Iyer during the two tours. They first suffered a 2-0 series defeat against Ireland and then returned from England with a crushing 4-0 series loss. The disappointing results also ended India's long stay at the top of the ICC Men's T20I rankings. Recently, Dinesh Karthik highlighted Shreyas Iyer's tactical flaws after England whitewash.
Wasim Jaffer breaks silence on Shreyas Iyer after England debacle
Despite the poor results, Wasim Jaffer said that Shreyas Iyer should continue as India's T20I captain. The former Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach believes that captaincy at the international level is a completely new challenge for Iyer, and one difficult tour should not decide his future.
Jaffer felt Iyer handled the pressure reasonably well and showed enough confidence to lead the team. He also pointed out that the skipper scored 218 runs in the five-match T20I series against England, which showed that he led from the front even when the situation was tough.
Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube channel, “I don't think he captained poorly. No one suddenly becomes a bad captain overnight. We've been praising him for a long time, and the results are there for everyone to see, especially the way he led his IPL team.
This is his first opportunity to captain India in international cricket, so he's in new territory. I think he'll handle it. He has the confidence and self-belief to do so. He scored runs as well. Collectively, as a team, we played poorly. But I think Shreyas Iyer is not a bad choice going forward. In my opinion, he did a decent job.”
Wasim Jaffer reveals Gautam Gambhir's hidden plan behind the England series
Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer believes that the recent T20I series in England was not just about winning matches. He feels the Indian cricket team management treated it as an important opportunity to test players and build the right squad ahead of the next ICC T20 World Cup in 2028.
Wasim Jaffer also pointed out that the recent T20I series gave several new faces a chance to show what they could do at the international level. He also noted that the absence of experienced stars like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya gave other players the chance to step into bigger roles.
He also saw Kuldeep Yadav’s snub only to try different spin options and assess their performances. The former Indian opener felt the performances in these matches would play a major role in deciding who earns the team's trust for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Jaffer added, “I think it seemed that the selectors and the coaches, especially Gautam Gambhir, wanted to try a few players and see whom they could trust going into the World Cup.” Amid this, Abhishek Sharma creates bizarre world record.
Wasim Jaffer explains why India prioritized player testing over winning
Additionally, the cricket pundit felt the England T20I series was mainly used to test players in overseas conditions rather than focus only on winning the series or games.
Jaffer signed off by saying, “That would probably give them an answer as to whether these players are long-term prospects or whether they aren't the right fit. That's the impression I got from these two series. It seemed like they wanted to try out a few players and figure out which ones they could back going forward and which ones they couldn't.”
