'It’ll be challenging because Shreyas was out of the T20 squad': Manjrekar

Shreyas Iyer and Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes it will be challenging for India's new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, who will be returning to the national team after a gap of three years.

Iyer, who played his last T20I against Australia in December 2023, will lead India in two T20Is versus Ireland (at Belfast on June 26, 28) followed by a five-T20I series against England, starting at Chester-le-Street on July 1.

"It will be a little challenging only because he [Iyer] was out of India's T20 squad. Not rightly, deservedly, because last season, he should've been picked after his phenomenal [2025] IPL performance as a batter and as [Punjab Kings] captain," Manjrekar told mid-day during a select media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network on Monday.

"These are confident guys, and captaining an IPL franchise, you get used to the pressure, the stakes are high, but it's going to be challenging. More than leadership, I'm going to see how he evolves as a batter while captaining India, because there's been some difference in his batting this [2026] season versus last season. It seems he has the ingredients to take on the job, but it will be interesting to see how he goes about being a batter-captain," added Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs.

Meanwhile, Manjrekar hoped Rohit Sharma's selection for the three-match ODI series against England, starting at Birmingham on July 14, is a long-term plan considering the 2027 ODI World Cup.

"It's a bit harsh on Yashasvi Jaiswal [who scored two centuries in his last three ODIs, but isn't selected]. If the selectors have picked Rohit for this [England], I hope it's a long-term decision, else that place could've gone to someone else. We don't want to be assessing Rohit's performance in the next 18 or 19 ODIs before the World Cup," Manjrekar added.