‘Won’t be under anyone’s shadow’, Iyer reacts to T20I captaincy:BCCI wants Shubman Gill to prioritise Tests and ODIs

Shreyas Iyer has shared his first public reaction after being named India’s T20I captaincy. The right-hander, a day ago, was named India’s new skipper in the shortest format of the game and he replaced Suryakumar Yadav, who led the Men in Blue to a record third T20 World Cup title earlier this year. Shreyas has impressed with his captaincy skills for a considerable period of time, including both in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squads for the Ireland and England tours that are slated to take place in June-July. The Indian team for the Asian Games 2026 was also picked. ‘Won’t be under anyone’s shadow’ While speaking at an event, the new Indian T20I skipper made his thoughts pretty clear, saying that he will not change anything about himself. Iyer’s first assignment as T20I captain will the two-match T20I series against Ireland. “I don’t have to change my personality. I have to be the same person how I was before, and not try to be someone else or be under someone’s shadow. I obviously loved challenges growing up, especially being from Mumbai, where cricket is pretty big and competition is high,” he said. BCCI advises Shubman Gill to focus on Tests, ODIs Shubman Gill has been advised by the BCCI to focus on ODIs and Tests. The selection committee wants the Indian Test and ODI captain to remain fully fit for the upcoming ICC tournaments, the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship (WTC). According to a PTI report, this is why he was not selected in the T20 team. On Saturday, the T20 team for England, Ireland, and the Asian Games was announced. Gill performed brilliantly in IPL 2026, scoring 732 runs and batting at a strike rate of over 163. Despite this, he was not selected in the team. Board is concerned about Gill’s busy schedule Sources associated with BCCI said that the selectors are concerned about Gill’s burnout. The Indian cricket schedule for the next 18 months is so busy that it might be difficult for players to stay fresh while continuously playing all three formats. Gill has to play 9 Tests in the next WTC cycle. Additionally, he will have to play around 35 ODI matches before the 2027 ODI World Cup. May return to T20Is Gill’s performance in the IPL was excellent, but top-order batsmen like Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi are already present in the current T20 team. However, the selectors have not closed the door on T20 cricket for Gill. He might return to the T20 team before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in 2028. Shubman Gill scored a century in the only Test match being played against Afghanistan. The Indian captain played an innings of 126 runs. This was his 11th Test career century and sixth as captain.