Snubbed For England Tests, India Star 'Officially' Joins ODI Captaincy Race
Shreyas Iyer might be India's long-term solution to white-ball captaincy.
- Shreyas Iyer has enhanced his reputation with strong performances for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025.
- Iyer aims to prove his leadership skills, amid suggestions of external influences in KKR.
- He has officially entered the race to become India's next white-ball captain.
One of the most consistent batters in the white-ball spectrum, Shreyas Iyer has given his reputation plenty of boost with a heroic campaign for the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Despite lifting the IPL title with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year, Iyer had to prove his leadership qualities again, as many saw him as a 'remote-controlled' skipper, with many suggesting that it was Gautam Gambhir who was actually calling the shots in the franchise. However, it has now been reported that Iyer has officially joined the race to be India's next white-ball captain.
Captaincy in the Indian team remains a tricky topic at the moment. With Shubman Gill as the team's Test captain, Rohit Sharma in ODIs and Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is, Team India has three different leaders for the three formats. However, it is well known that the system isn't sustainable for long. In all likelihood, India will have one white-ball captain and one red-ball in the next few years.
Suryakumar Yadav's inability to cement a spot in India's ODI team, however, has done his chances of leading the 50-over side plenty of harm. With Iyer boosting his reputation with a display of excellent captaincy and strategic skills this season in the IPL, a report in Indian Express claims that he is officially in the race to be India's next white-ball captain.
"Right now he just plays ODIs but after this IPL we can't keep him out of T20 internationals and even Tests. Plus he also has now officially joined the white-ball captaincy race," the report quoted an official, also a key decision-maker, as saying.
India's current ODI captain, Rohit, hasn't set a retirement date yet, but seeing the way his exits from T20Is and Tests have come, it is tough to predict when Rohit might go on to quit the 50-over format as well.
Whenever that happens, the name of Shreyas Iyer is understood to be seriously discussed.
India Cricket Team
Rohit Sharma