By World Cup 2027, Rohit Sharma will be 40 years old and will be pushing for a World Cup title by the time he retires. But it won’t be easy. As Rohit Sharma has retired from T20I and test cricket, fans expect him to be dethroned even from ODI cricket captaincy.
Well, who’s next? Shreyas Iyer will captain India, according to sources, and his recent white ball record provides a strong suit. Iyer has led domestic teams and franchise teams brilliantly.
With only 2 years left for the World Cup, will Shreyas Iyer be tested and given time to prepare? Only the BCCI can tell.
Shreyas Iyer’s Captaincy Exploits
It won’t be a mistake to say that Shreyas Iyer is one of the finest IPL skippers in recent times. His ability to lead from the front and also become fearless makes him a special player.
To the readers unaware, Shreyas Iyer is the first IPL captain to take 3 different franchises to the IPL final. Firstly, it was Delhi Capitals; secondly, winning the title with KKR in 2024; and lastly, taking Punjab Kings to the finals in the 2025 season.
Under his captaincy, there have been various young cricketers who have risen and shone. From the likes of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora to Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, Iyer seems to be the players’ captain.
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Captaincy Suits Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer will captain the team based on his batting exploits when he is the leader. As and when Shreyas Iyer is the skipper, his bat does the talking, and he leads from the front. In the 2020 season, when Delhi reached the finals, Iyer made 519 runs with the bat with an average of 34.60.
Similarly, in the 2024 season, when KKR reached the finals and won the title, it was Iyer who made 351 runs with a strike rate of 146.86. His latest exploits with the Punjab Kings are widely spoken of.
In the total of 17 matches, Iyer was able to make 604 runs in IPL 2025 with an average of 50.33 to go with a strike rate of 175.07. His aggressive batting against Mumbai in the Eliminator shows his ability to handle pressure.
Is Shreyas Iyer The Right Choice?
A lot of the fans might be in confusion about whether Iyer is the right choice or not. Well, Shreyas Iyer will captain India in a white ball, and the records do suggest.
Even in the 2023 World Cup, when India finished the finalists, Iyer made 530 runs with an average of 66.25 along with a strike rate of 113.24.
Being a brilliant player of spin and controlling the middle overs, Iyer is the perfect choice. In the overall ODI career, Iyer has made 2845 runs with an average of 48.22.
In 70 ODI matches, Iyer has 5 centuries and 22 half-centuries. The strike rate of 100 suggests he can take the attack to the opposition spinners in the middle overs.
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