India’s selectors named Shreyas Iyer as T20I captain and handed 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a maiden senior call-up on Saturday, announcing a 16-man squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.
Tilak Varma, one of the candidates considered for the captaincy alongside Ishan Kishan, takes the vice-captain’s role. Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to the T20 World Cup title in Ahmedabad in March but lost his place after a prolonged dip in form with both India and Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Iyer has not played a T20I since December 2023. His IPL record since then built the case for his return. He captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, scored over 600 runs in the 2025 season, and followed up with 498 runs in the 2026 campaign, which included his first IPL century.
Sooryavanshi’s inclusion comes off the back of a record-breaking IPL season. The teenager scored 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.31, hit 72 sixes, a tournament record, and swept the Orange Cap, Emerging Player award and MVP award. He replaces Rinku Singh in the squad.
Harshit Rana also returns after missing the T20 World Cup through a knee injury that required surgery. Ravi Bishnoi holds the lone wrist-spinner slot, with Kuldeep Yadav left out. Jasprit Bumrah gets a rest, with Prince Yadav named in his place. Hardik Pandya, still working his way back to fitness, misses the T20 squads but remains in contention for the upcoming ODIs against Afghanistan.
India play two T20Is in Belfast on 26 and 28 June, before travelling to England for five matches. The series opens in Chester-le-Street on 1 July and concludes in Southampton on 11 July.
Full squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakravarthy, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
