Gautam Gambhir's Right Hand Reminds Him Of Shreyas Iyer's Achievements

Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir [Source: AFP]

Shreyas Iyer is set to usher in a new era for Indian cricket in T20Is. Making his return to India’s 20-overs team for the series in Ireland, the charismatic right-handed batter was also appointed as national skipper to guide the national side up until the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup.

Remarkably, Shreyas was appointed as Team India skipper as a replacement of 2026 T20 World Cup winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, largely owing to his immense success in the IPL for the KKR and Punjab Kings franchises.

Ahead of India’s two-match series in Ireland, Gautam Gambhir’s right-hand man and India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak praised the newly-appointed skipper and revealed what the team management is expecting from the comeback man. 

Sitanshu Kotak praises ‘experienced’ Shreyas Iyer

While Shreyas Iyer will be leading the national side for the first time in his career through the series in Ireland, the cricketer already has immense leadership experience in domestic cricket and in IPL. 

Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was sure to remind everyone about Iyer’s experience when he was asked to talk about the newly-appointed skipper during a pre-series press conference. Kotak further praised Iyer, and recalled the fact that the cricketer has even previously worked with national head coach Gautam Gambhir during their time together in the KKR franchise. 

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The India batting coach said “Shreyas Iyer has led so much in IPL cricket, and for Mumbai in domestic cricket. He has the experience. Even when Gautam Gambhir won the IPL title with KKR in 2014, Shreyas Iyer was the captain. So, it’s not as if people are expecting something different from him, or he is expecting something different from others.” 

Sitanshu Kotak also stated that the current setup will continue to carry the 'Team First' mindset going forward. The batting coach added that Shreyas already embodies the same philosophy, as evidenced by his charismatic leadership of the Punjab Kings franchise in the IPL.

He added “Our primary intent is always ‘Team First’. And the speech I heard of Shreyas during a team meeting today indicates the same. He’s really good and he has experience. He will try and do his best.”

Shreyas Iyer to lead India in Ireland, England

The BCCI sacked Suryakumar Yadav last month, even though the senior batter led the national side to a historic 2026 T20 World Cup win earlier this year. Yadav was primarily sacked owing to his lackluster returns in T20I cricket off late. 

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, has guided two different franchises into the IPL finals in the past three editions of the tournament. Apart from appointing Shreyas as new skipper, the selection committee also named young Tilak Varma as his deputy in place of senior all-rounder Axar Patel. 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set for India debut, series opens on June 26

India will take on Ireland in the first T20I of their two-match series on Friday, June 26. The match will be hosted by the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont, Belfast. 

Apart from marking Shreyas Iyer’s maiden international match as captain, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might also be making his Team India debut in the process.

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