‘Sarpanch’ Shreyas Iyer beats Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s record in first game as India captain, becomes … | Cricket News

Shreyas Iyer began his stint as India’s T20I captain with a record already to his name. When he went for the toss in the opening T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Friday, he became the player with most T20s before making his captaincy debut for India in the format.When he went out for the toss against Ireland in Belfast on Friday, Iyer had already captained 114 T20 matches in franchise and domestic cricket – the most by an Indian before taking charge of the national team in the format.Leading in most T20s at the time of India captain’s T20I debut

At the toss, Iyer chose to field first at the Civil Service Cricket Club. India went with three specialist fast bowlers, one bowling all-rounder and two spinners.Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not included in the playing XI despite expectations that he might make his international debut.Explaining the decision, Iyer said, “Unfortunately not (Sooryavanshi’s debut). He is a gun player, but we have some tremendous players who have done well for us, so we have backed him. He will get his chance when the time comes,” he backed the opening combination of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.At 31 years and 202 days, Iyer also became the third oldest player to make his T20I captaincy debut for India, behind Shikhar Dhawan (35 years, 232 days) and Suryakumar Yadav (33 years, 70 days). Rohit Sharma (30 years, 234 days) and KL Rahul (30 years, 143 days) complete the top five.Oldest at the time of India captain’s T20I debut

Iyer made his T20I debut against New Zealand in 2017. In 52 T20 internationals, he has scored 1,104 runs at a strike rate of 136.12.