3 Options Better Than Tilak Varma To Become India’s T20 Vice Captain

Vice-captaincy options for India [Source: AFP]

The Indian T20I team is set to undergo a transition immediately after lifting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, as Shreyas Iyer is likely to take over as the new captain from the Ireland series.

This is because of Suryakumar Yadav’s concerning form for a considerable period, including IPL 2026, where he only got 270 runs at a strike rate of 147.54. Interestingly, it is also being reported that Tilak Varma is in contention for the captaincy, but would most likely be made Shreyas Iyer’s deputy, keeping the future in mind.

But, looking at the current T20I set-up, there are more experienced leaders in the group who have captained multiple teams at different levels, including IPL, unlike Tilak Varma. Below is a brief look at the options who could be the better choices for India’s T20I vice-captaincy.

1. Sanju Samson

If reports are to be believed, Sanju Samson is head coach Gautam Gambhir’s frontrunner to become the new Indian captain over Shreyas Iyer. At 31, Samson has a lot of experience and won two T20 World Cups with this team. He has also held the IPL leadership role for a long time — first with the Rajasthan Royals and then as a senior figure with the Chennai Super Kings.

With the Rajasthan Royals, he has captained the team in 67 matches, winning 33 and losing 32. One match ended in a tie. No other player has led RR in more matches than him.

Also Read: India's T20I Captains List

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is another name said to be in contention for the captaincy after his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26 win with Jharkhand, which helped him return to the Indian team. Thanks to his brilliant international return, where he also helped India win the T20 World Cup, he was made to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in Pat Cummins’ absence during IPL 2026.

Cummins missed 7 matches in the first half of the season, where Ishan Kishan’s captaincy skills came to the fore and helped the team on their way to the playoffs. He captained them in 7 matches and won 4, with a young, inexperienced squad.

3. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has been the undisputed world number 1 T20I batter for a long time, and despite a string of low scores in the T20 World Cup, he scored 52 off 21 in the final to set up the team for a big score. Thanks to his knock, India went on to score 255/5 in the first innings of the final and eventually won the match by 96 runs.

Speaking of leadership qualities, Abhishek Sharma leads the star-studded Punjab team, which consists of IPL players from top to bottom. These captaincy duties are not limited to T20 cricket, i.e., the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but also the longer formats.

During Cummins’ absence, he was Ishan Kishan’s deputy for the first half of IPL 2026.

*Notably, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya haven’t been named in this list because they have previously taken this responsibility and the selectors are likely to try out new players in the leadership group.

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