'He is miles ahead of the other contenders' - Mohammad Kaif recommends Suryakumar Yadav’s successor as T20I captain

According to reports, Suryakumar Yadav is all but certain to be sacked as India's captain in T20I cricket. While he led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, his performances with the bat haven't been satisfactory. Even during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Suryakumar finished with just 270 runs, his lowest tally in a season since 2017. He had an average of just 20.77.

Mohammad Kaif urged the decision-makers to appoint Shreyas Iyer as Suryakumar's replacement. The former India batter said that the current Punjab Kings' skipper has experience working with head coach Gautam Gambhir during their stint at Kolkata Knight Riders. When the Knights won their third IPL title in 2024, Shreyas was the captain while Gambhir served as the mentor. Kaif also mentioned that the right-handed batter isn't someone whose batting is affected by the added responsibility of captaining the side.

"Gautam has worked before with Shreyas and won the trophy for KKR. Shreyas got Delhi and Punjab to the final. In terms of experience, Shreyas has led in the IPL, won the trophy and understands Gautam's pattern. In terms of that mutual understanding, Shreyas seems to be the frontrunner. He is miles ahead of the other contenders. He has even scored runs while being captain. You will find very few players who are captains and also score. There is no choice better than him," he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif also suggested Jasprit Bumrah's name as a potential captain. The former said that if Bumrah is ready, he should be given the captaincy before anyone else.

"Jasprit Bumrah is deserving if you look at it. He has been in Surya's team, he has played for long and delivered. If he is ready for captaincy, he should be the first above all other names. He captained MI as well, and they won that game. He even gave a statement, which shows that he has that desire to captain. I don't know about his fitness and participation, but in that sense, no one should even be close to him, because he has been in the team and done well in different conditions," he said.

Suryakumar is on par with Kohli in T20s: Former RCB batter

While Hardik Pandya is another potential captaincy option, having led the team previously and also served as vice-captain, Kaif feels that the selectors might not consider him. The former India batter added that Pandya must stop captaining in franchise cricket.

"They have gone beyond Pandya. At one point, I myself had asked why he was not being made captain. Gill will not come back, as he was tried and he also did not score, so they have gone past him too. I am saying myself now that Hardik should not even be a franchise captain. Maybe he can be a better captain outside MI, maybe. If he wants to stay in MI, do not be the captain," Mohammad Kaif expressed.