Tilak Varma has replaced Axar Patel as the vice-captain of the T20I squad.
Apart from Shreyas and Sooryavanshi’s inclusions, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravi Bishnoi and Prince Yadav were also included in the squad, while Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav were left out from the squad that won the T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were rested.
His successor Shreyas, 31, has not played a T20I since December 2023 due to India’s inability to find a place for him, with Suryakumar and Tilak occupying middle-order positions. Shreyas was most recently selected as an injury replacement during the home T20I series against New Zealand in January, but did not play a game because India preferred to pick the players who were going to play in the T20 World Cup that followed.
Shreyas, however, has proven captaincy credentials, having led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL title in 2024, and Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the final in 2020 and 2025. He scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in IPL 2025 and 498 runs at a strike rate of 168.81 in IPL 2026.
“We’ve seen what he’s done over last few years, leading different franchises,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said of Iyer in Mumbai on Saturday. “He won [the IPL title] once, had a tougher season this year after a great start. He’s seen everything that a captain possibly can.
“His own performances have been really good. He was quite close to getting into that T20 World Cup squad as well, but Surya still there, there was no room for him. He is in my opinion was a “stand-out candidate” with enough experience now. This will obviously be a different challenge.”
Agarkar also felt Tilak’s body of work in T20Is over the past two years merited a promotion. This is the third T20 vice-captaincy change the selectors have had to make over the last eight months.
“Shubman Gill was vice-captain leading into the T20 World Cup,” Agarkar explained. “When we made a call to have two wicketkeepers, he missed out. Then Axar was vice-captain, replacing Gill. But like Shreyas, we’re looking at what is best for the next two-year cycle. Tilak is firstly a terrific player, it gives him an opportunity to learn on the job as well in case the need arises.”
India play Ireland in two T20Is in Belfast on June 26 and 28, followed by five T20Is in England from July 1 to 11.
India T20I squad for Ireland and England
Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
Keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, meanwhile, will captain India A in two four-day matches in Galle against Sri Lanka A in June-July, in a shadow tour of the senior Test team’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The India A squad includes a number of current and recent members of the Test squad including batters B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal, spin-bowling allrounder Harsh Dubey, seamers Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj, and wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan, as well as Auqib Nabi, whose chart-topping 60 wickets at 12.56 led Jammu & Kashmir to a historic maiden Ranji Trophy title.
One interesting inclusion in the squad is of Uttar Pradesh legspinner Zeeshan Ansari, who last played a first-class match in January 2020.
India A four-day squad for Sri Lanka
Dhruv Jurel (capt & wk), B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Saransh Jain, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, N Jagadeesan, Zeeshan Ansari, Aman Mokhade, Shaik Rasheed
