india captain Shreyas Iyer Insisting that he is ready for the challenge of leading the national team in T20Is, he said he always believed that opportunities would come after delivering consistent performances for the IPL franchise and the national team. Iyer appointed as India’s new T20I captain Suryakumar YadavHis tenure got off to a rocky start as India lost the series to Ireland 2-0 in Belfast. However, ahead of the five-match T20I series against England, the captain remains focused on learning from the experience while building a new identity for the team. “Honestly, it’s not surprising. I expected this at some point. In previous IPL matches, whenever I played for the national team, I performed well. So, this is not a surprise to me. But at the same time, I feel this is a good opportunity for me to learn from everyone in the T20 World Cup-winning team, the team management, the support staff and some of the people who have played in the tournament,” Iyer told BCCI.TV. The 31-year-old admitted that captaining India was the fulfillment of a childhood dream and described the responsibility as one of the proudest moments of his career. “As a kid, you always dream of playing for India. Now, you get the opportunity to lead India. I think it’s the icing on the cake. It means the world,” he said. Looking back on the journey that earned him the leadership position, Iyer praised the support system around him while acknowledging the hard work behind his rise. “It’s definitely a result of the hard work you do and the support you get from your fans, family and friends. It’s hard to explain this feeling in words. “ Iyer also outlined the aggressive style of cricket he wants the team to play and said he wants to instill a fearless mentality that will put opponents under pressure from the moment India steps on the field. “I just like to be a threat to the opponent. When I step on the field, I want to have an aggressive, fearless attitude. I want my unit to be able to rally around that mentality and make the opponent a little intimidated by our personality and appearance on the field.” When I step on the court, it’s like a war for me. I want to win every game and that’s the mentality I want to instill in everyone. “Ruthless, ruthless, determined. There’s no pressure, but at the same time, it’s going to be challenging. All I want to do is accept the challenge. I want it to be challenging because I thrive under pressure,” he said. Talk about the head coach Gautam GambhirIn his message to the team, Iyer revealed that despite India’s recent victory in the T20 World Cup, the team sees this phase as the beginning of a new chapter. “Gotti Bai mentioned in an interview that we are world champions. This is a new paragraph, completely starting from me being the leader of the team and we are starting from scratch again.” The skipper also reflected on India’s disappointing tour of Ireland, admitting the results did not live up to expectations but insisting the series provided valuable lessons, especially for players experiencing British and Irish conditions for the first time. “It’s definitely not the start we wanted, but there’s a lot to learn in new conditions. Most of the players are also playing in England and Ireland for the first time, so it’s a learning curve for them as well. Also, we have to build camaraderie so everyone starts to support and trust each other again.” India have struggled with their batting throughout the Ireland series, with the top-order failing to provide a consistent start in both games. However, the bowling attack showed encouraging signs, especially through debutants Prince Yadav, Harshit Rana and Ardeep Singh. With England facing a tougher challenge, Iyer will now look to score his first series win as India’s T20I captain while implementing the fearless and relentless brand of cricket he believes can take the team forward.
