‘Like chatting with a brother’: Shreyas Iyer reveals private conversations with Rohit Sharma and SKY over T20I captaincy originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Shreyas Iyer credits Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav for their support as new captain.
- Iyer succeeded Suryakumar despite the latter guiding India to a T20 World Cup win.
- After the humiliating Ireland series defeat, Iyer must turn around the fortunes against England.
Shreyas Iyer opens up on guidance from Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav ahead of England series
Shreyas Iyer has spoken candidly about the backing he has received from senior teammates Rohit Sharma and former T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav since taking over the captaincy.
Iyer stepped into the role after Suryakumar led India to another T20 World Cup triumph, with the leadership change primarily coming as a result of a dip in batting form.
India, now under Iyer’s leadership, head into the next phase of their UK tour with a five-match T20I series against England, hoping to turn the page after a difficult outing in Ireland. Despite entering that two-match series as clear favourites, India suffered a stunning 2-0 defeat, marking a tough start to Iyer’s tenure in his very first assignment as captain.
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He now gets the chance to reset that narrative when India take on England in the series opener at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.
Before that, Iyer reflected on his relationship with Rohit and described their conversations as effortless, comparing them to simply chatting with an older brother.
“Interacting with Rohit Sharma, it’s like you’re just having a chat with your brother. He’s the sort of figure who has also helped me in my domestic career. So it’s always been easy to interact with him,” Iyer said.
Iyer also spoke warmly about Suryakumar, someone he has shared plenty of domestic cricket with in the past.
“Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), again, similar character. I’ve played with him a lot of domestic cricket and just before coming here he gave me inputs about how the management is going to be, how the players are going to be in this certain situation. So yes, definitely decent interaction and a lot to learn at the same time,” he said.
MORE: IND vs ENG 1st T20I 2026 predicted lineups: Will Vaibhav make his debut?
Iyer wants an aggressive, fearless team mindset vs. England
Looking ahead to the England series, Iyer made clear the kind of approach he wants to instil in his squad. He spoke of wanting his side to appear intimidating to opponents, carrying an aggressive and fearless attitude every time they step onto the field.
“I just like to be menacing to the opponents,” he said. “I want to have that aggressive, fearless approach when I step onto the field. I want my troops to rally around that mindset where the opponents are a bit intimidated by our personality, by our appearance on the field.
“And this is what I want each and every individual in the team to think about because it’s like a war for me when I step onto the field. I want to win every match and that’s the mindset I want to imbibe in each and every individual representing the country and wanting us to challenge the opponents as well.”
England vs India 2026 schedule
India’s white-ball tour of England begins with the first of the five T20Is at Durham on July 1 and concludes with the third ODI at Lord’s on July 19.
DateMatchVenueJuly 1, 20261st T20IRiverside Ground, Chester-le-Street (Durham)July 4, 20262nd T20IEmirates Old Trafford, ManchesterJuly 7, 20263rd T20ITrent Bridge, NottinghamJuly 9, 20264th T20ICounty Ground (Seat Unique Stadium), BristolJuly 11, 20265th T20IThe Rose Bowl (Utilita Bowl), SouthamptonJuly 14, 20261st ODIEdgbaston, BirminghamJuly 16, 20262nd ODISophia Gardens, CardiffJuly 19, 20263rd ODILord’s, London
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