India T20I squad vs Ireland & England 2026: Sooryavanshi gets maiden call-up, Shreyas Iyer named captain
India have announced the same 15-member T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Ireland and England as Shreyas Iyer has been named the new captain.
Be a winner today!
Get the latest cricket updates, Join our community
Shreyas Iyer has been confirmed as India’s new T20I captain as they start their preparation for the next T20 World Cup 2028 in England. He replaces the recently World Cup-winning captain, Suryakumar Yadav, who has struggled in the shortest format for the last 10 months and also experienced a struggling Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Iyer will be in charge from the two-match T20I series against Ireland before the five-match T20I series against England. Apart from him, the selectors have also handed the maiden call-up to the 15-year-old opening batter, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, as they look to build towards the Los Angeles Olympics. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Prince Yadav have also been included in the side.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's T20I call-up: At 15, he's already broken Sachin Tendulkar's record
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become the youngest player even to be selected in India men’s squad since Sachin Tendulkar in the late 1980s. The left-handed batter had a blockbuster IPL 2026 where he made 776 runs at a strike rate of more than 237.30 with one century and three scores into the 90s, two of which came in the IPL 2026 Playoffs.
Before the T20I tour, the Bihar-born will play for the India A side in the tri-series in Sri Lanka, which also involves Afghanistan from June 09 to 21. The engagement of the fans will be massive around the youngster.
India will play Ireland in two T20Is in Belfast on June 26 and 28, followed by the five T20Is in England from July 01 to 11.
Shreyas Iyer named India T20I captain — Suryakumar Yadav dropped after T20 World Cup win
The tour of Ireland and England is India’s first T20I series since Suryakumar Yadav, the 35-year-old, led them to a successful defense of the World Cup trophy in March where they beat New Zealand in the final. He will be 38 before the next tournament as the debate continues after he experienced a struggling competition with the bat, collecting 242 runs at a strike rate of 136.72.
For the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026, Sky made only 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of around 21 and a strike rate of under 150, which was never going to be enough to satisfy the selectors.
His successor Shreyas, 31, hasn’t played a T20I since December 2023 due to his lack of form. He was picked as the injury replacement for their home series against New Zealand before the World Cup but didn’t play a single game.
He has proven his credentials as the T20 captain with a trophy during IPL 2024 for the Kolkata Knight Riders while shouldering the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings to the final in 2020 and 2025. He scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in IPL 2025, followed by 498 runs at 168.81 in IPL 2026.
India's full 15-member T20I squad for Ireland & England 2026 — Who's in, who's out
Apart from the exclusion of SKY, the BCCI selectors have also dropped Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav from the T20I series against Ireland and England. The latter had a tough IPL 2026 for the Capitals, where he recorded only 10 wickets in 11 innings at an average of 38.10 and an economy rate of 10.29.
See Also: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets blank cheque bat deal offer ahead of IPL 2026 Qualifier 2
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested from the series after a long T20 World Cup and the IPL 2026. With the ODI World Cup 2027 to follow in the next 15 months, their focus will mostly be on the 50-over format.
India's T20I squad for Ireland & England series-
Shreyas Iyer (captain), 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
Tags:
