Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has highlighted that it would not be fair to remove Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain. It has been reported that Shreyas Iyer is all set to take over as India’s next T20I skipper.

However, Chopra pointed out that two months ago, Iyer wasn’t even in the fray for selection in the T20I team. The Mumbai batter was not even part of India’s World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, Iyer had led Kolkata Knight Riders to glory in IPL 2024 and led Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the final in 2020 and 2025 respectively. However, Chopra said he would take some time to eventually hand over the captaincy onus to Shreyas Iyer.

“If you had asked me, I would have first given a chance to Shreyas Iyer and kept Suryakumar Yadav as captain. I would have slowly blooded in Shreyas Iyer and tried to give him captaincy eventually. I am not saying I would have given him the captaincy, but it could have been a thought process to make him the captain because he has captaincy credentials,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“My vote will eventually go for Shreyas Iyer, first to come in the T20 team, then to establish himself again in this format, and then maybe the captaincy a few months down the line. If you make Shreyas the captain now, it will seem like what are you doing? He wasn’t a part of your 15 two months ago. He wasn’t a part of your thought process, and is your team’s captain now. It just does not sound right to me,” he added.

The renowned commentator highlighted that Tilak Varma won’t be backed by selectors for India’s T20I captaincy after the left-hander also emerged as a potential contender.

“I don’t think it would be Tilak Varma because Tilak Varma doesn’t have huge captaincy credentials. He doesn’t have a lot of experience. He is definitely India’s future and the present as well, but as a captain, so early? The next two years’ planning around him, I am not 100 percent certain,” he said.

Chopra said Ishan Kishan is a good contender but wondered if the selectors would back him on the basis of his excellent run in the last six months.

“Ishan Kishan is a very good candidate. He has come after making Jharkhand win, but that’s the story of the previous six months. Before that, he was put on ice for two years. These six months have been excellent, but will you invest in him for the next two years? Is he that guy?” Chopra observed.

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel will announce the squad for the UK tour on Saturday.