Sanju Samson emerges as contender for India captaincy after Suryakumar Yadav

Sanju Samson emerges as contender for India Captaincy after Suryakumar Yadav (Source Alex Davidson/Getty Image)

Star cricketer Sanju Samson is all set to replace Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20I captain. Earlier in the week, there was speculation of Shreyas Iyer taking over the leadership duties for the Men in Blue, but the latest media report has earmarked the Kerala cricketer as the frontrunner to assume the position, dethroning Suryakumar.

The BCCI is reportedly looking to move on from Suryakumar as the captain of the side. The 2026 T20 World Cup-winning captain has had a torrid time with the bat over the past few months. He scored a total of 242 runs in the victorious campaign, which included a solitary half-century in the opening game against the USA. He has had a dismal season in the 2026 IPL, scoring just 195 runs in ten matches.

Despite this, his leadership record remains supreme, with India holding a dominant fort under his captaincy, which also led India to an Asia Cup championship in 2025 alongside many bilateral wins. As a captain, Suryakumar made the Indians the only side to not only defend a T20 World Cup title but also lift the silverware on home soil.

It was reported earlier that the BCCI was looking at the Punjab Kings skipper as a potential successor to Suryakumar. Shreyas has been successful as captain in the last two years, taking the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024 and leading the PBKS to their second-ever IPL final in 2025. He has also shone with the bat, scoring a whopping 604 runs in the 2025 season, batting mostly at number 4.

But Dainik Jagaran says that Samson is favoured over Shreyas Iyer due to his familiarity and presence within the current Indian T20 set-up. Samson has been part of the setup since the 2024 T20 World Cup, unlike Shreyas, who last played a T20I in December 2023. There are doubts about Shreyas’s ascent to leadership due to his limited involvement with the squad. It was also added that Suryakumar might keep his place for the white-ball tours of England and Ireland in July, but a lean patch with the bat would make selectors finalise the inevitable.

In his most recent spell in the T20 set up, Samson has established himself as a mainstay at the top of the order, forming a dangerous opening partnership with left-hander Abhishek Sharma. Since 2024, he has scored 1025 runs in the format, with three centuries and five half-centuries, striking at a whopping 167.5.

But his most notable achievement, perhaps, is his run in the 2026 T20 World Cup. After being out of consideration for the start of the tournament due to form concerns, Samson returned to the top and played match-defining knocks in India’s final Super 8 game, semifinal and final, making India the first team to lift the T20 World Cup title at home. His tally of 321 runs in five innings at a whopping strike rate of 199.4 is the highest run tally recorded by an Indian batter in the competition, surpassing Virat Kohli’s 319 runs from the 2014 edition.

Samson has started the 2026 IPL in brilliant fashion. In the yellow of the Chennai Super Kings, he has scored 402 runs in 10 innings, striking at 167.50. He has scored two centuries this season, along with one half-century. He moved to the Chepauk in a high-profile trade ahead of the start of the 2026 season after a storied career with the Rajasthan Royals, whom he led since 2021.