Shreyas Iyer’s renaissance takes exciting turn in Shubman Gill’s absence

After a turbulent time, Shreyas Iyer's remarkable comeback reaches another milestone as he takes over India’s ODI captaincy with Shubman Gill leaving for Tests.

It’s already been a year of plenty for Shreyas Iyer, and it’s only going to get better on Friday.

On Friday, Shreyas Iyer will become India's 29th ODI captain (AFP)

Out of favour for two and a half years in the Twenty20 International format, Shreyas made a dramatic comeback to the shortest version this June, as the captain of the national team, no less. His claims steadfastly overlooked despite a mountain of IPL runs for Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and then Punjab Kings, Shreyas became an automatic choice once those in high decision-making positions decided that it was time to look beyond Suryakumar Yadav and begin the process of planning for the 2028 T20 World Cup in earnest.

Shreyas became an almost automatic, obvious choice to succeed Suryakumar, despite his long international hiatus. He skippered three different franchises to IPL finals, and one of them (Kolkata) to the title, in 2024. He also had grown into his unquestioned role as a No. 4 batter capable of batting in different gears – rapid to overdrive – depending on the game situation and the requirements of the team.

One of the main reasons for Shreyas being ignored from successive T20I squads between December 2023 and June 2026 was the inability of the think-tank to find a place for him in the playing XI. The consensus was that Shreyas was too good a player and too seasoned a campaigner to be picked in the 15 and not be an automatic choice in the XI. Because he was a single-skill player like Suryakumar, the thinking was that only one of them could consistently figure in the XI, and because he was the captain, the older Mumbaikar automatically became that one option.

But once Suryakumar was put out to pasture despite leading the team to a title-retaining triumph, there was no way Shreyas’ credentials could be overlooked any longer. He has had a mixed run since taking charge in June, losing away series (shockingly) to Ireland and England, winning at home and adding an Asian Games gold in between with a rousing defeat of Pakistan in the final in Nisshin.

Shreyas’ reintegration into the Indian cricketing landscape has been smooth and seamless. Reintegration? Ah yes, he did wend his way into the bad books of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in early 2024, didn’t he?

A comeback for the ages

A back injury that threatened to stymie his career at various stages pulled him down in more ways than one. Left out of the Test series after two matches – he hasn’t played a Test since Visakhapatnam in February 2024 – against England and given the all-clear by the National Cricket Academy, where his back was analysed and passed fit, Shreyas chose to stay away from Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy outings despite players specifically being told to play domestic cricket when fit and available. His contention that his back wasn’t improved enough to allow him to bat long – a key requirement for a specialist batter in the red-ball game – found no favour and once he chose to ignore board orders, he was jettisoned from the central contracts list in 2024.

To extricate himself from that crossroads and find himself in the position that he does today is credit to the 31-year-old’s perseverance and professionalism. After leading Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in 2024 – chastened, he did play for his state towards the business end of the competition – he rounded off his victorious return with the IPL crown. An India T20I call-up was still more than 12 months away, but in the interim, he made the pivotal No. 4 position in ODIs his own with a series of accomplished performances, none more standout than at the Champions Trophy in Dubai in March last year.

Shreyas’ reward for his pre-eminence within the 50-over setup was the vice-captaincy of the side when Shubman Gill was chosen to succeed Rohit Sharma in October last year. Now, with Gill, also the Test captain, having travelled to Wellington to be a part of the Test preparatory camp, Shreyas’ cup of white-ball joy is complete with the ODI captaincy too, for the time being.

On Friday afternoon, when he strides out for the toss with Mitchell Santer at the Bay Oval to kick off the fourth ODI, Shreyas will formally be installed as India’s 29th ODI skipper. Several top cricketers have gone through an entire career without captaining their country; leading that list is VVS Laxman, perhaps the most accomplished cricketer to have not led his national side. Shreyas is fortunate that at 31, he will be a two-format captain, one in his own right and one on a temporary basis, suggesting that however chequered the past might have been, the future is his to shape and rule.

Shreyas has unfinished business over the next three days. India are sitting on a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, and will inflict on New Zealand a rare home ODI series defeat if they win even one of the two remaining fixtures. Already, Gill has masterminded a halt of New Zealand’s winning home sequence at 11 series; if Shreyas can translate that into a first defeat in 12 series, it will be the icing on the cake for the stylist from Mumbai.