Not Shreyas Iyer, former coach backs this star player to lead India in T20Is after Suryakumar Yadav

From the past few weeks, rumors of Suryakumar Yadav being replaced by Shreyas Iyer as India's T20 captain have been making headlines. However, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has come up with a different opinion with keeping India's recent T20 World Cup 2026 triumph in mind.

Ravi Shastri backs Sanju Samson to become next T20I skipper

In an interaction with ICC, Shastri admitted that Suryakumar Yadav's spot remains under the scanner as he is going through a horrible form in the last couple of months.

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“India, come the next (T20) World Cup (in 2028), might be looking for a new captain, depending on how Surya goes over the next couple of years,” said Shastri.

While continuing further, Shastri backed Sanju Samson to overtake the leadership role amid Surya's bad patch. The former India cricketer noted Sanju's experience in the leadership role, as he had captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a good period of time.

"But Sanju Samson has put himself there for a leadership role because he's done that in the past for Rajasthan (Royals). And he's a certainty in the side, at the top of the order, extremely destructive. So I see him, this is just the start of something more you'll see from Sanju over the next two or three years," added Shastri.

According to the former India head coach, Sanju has worked really hard and shown maturity in his game. The 32-year-old batter amassed 321 runs in just five innings in India's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph, at an average of 80.25 clocking a strike rate of 199.37.

"I think he (Samson) has put a lid on all those question marks. There was always ability. People would, in fact, be disappointed because he wouldn't do justice to that ability. But my word this season, the way he's played after his performance in the T20 World Cup where single-handedly he almost won India games, the big games, the quarter-finals, semi-finals, the final, and the way he stepped up and the maturity he's showing now in the IPL, makes him a clear case as far as I'm concerned for leadership in the future," concluded Ravi Shastri.

Sanju smashed three consecutive half-century in crucial games to pave the way for India retaining the title.