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Shreyas Iyer's start as India's T20I captain has turned into a difficult one. Since taking over from Suryakumar Yadav after India's title-winning campaign at the 2026 T20 World Cup, Iyer is still waiting for his first T20I series victory as captain.
India's troubles began with a disappointing 2-0 series defeat against Ireland. Things have only become worse after the team also lost the five-match T20I series to England. England sealed the series with a dominant nine-wicket win in the fourth T20I on Thursday.
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While Iyer's captaincy has been under the spotlight, much of the criticism has been directed towards head coach Gautam Gambhir. The team's recent performances have raised questions, and former India opener Aakash Chopra has now shared his views on the situation.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said Gambhir's time as head coach has been full of incredible highs as well as disappointing lows.
"The disturbing fact is that Gautam's coaching tenure has seen extreme highs and lows. On one hand, we witness spectacular success after success. The team keeps winning series after series. They do not lose a single T20I series. They win 16 matches in a row, many of which come during his tenure. You win the World Cup. You win the Champions Trophy. And you are absolutely outstanding. But whenever we lose, we lose very badly. Whether it is the ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka, the Test series loss at home, the defeat against New Zealand, the matches against Ireland, or now the series against England,"
He also pointed out that India's defeats have often been one-sided and warned that another loss could affect the team's position in the ICC rankings.
"It feels like we are either on top of the world or flat on the floor. That is how his tenure has been so far. Another issue is that the team has now lost yet another series. If they lose one more match and suffer a clean sweep, they will no longer be the No. 1-ranked team in T20Is,"
Chopra also spoke about India's repeated problems against short-pitched bowling, saying England had clearly targeted that weakness throughout the series.
"This is one area where the Indian team seems to be surrendering again and again. England's bowlers relied heavily on short-pitched bowling throughout the series. With the new ball, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue came in with a clear plan - bowl at speeds above 140 kmph, preferably around 145 kmph, and keep banging in short deliveries one after another, almost challenging the batters by saying, 'Go on, hit us if you think you can.' India simply could not deal with it,"
The former opener also mentioned teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the youngster has looked promising but has failed to convert his starts into meaningful scores because of the same weakness.
"Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has now played three innings. Every time he has played a few attractive shots, it has felt like a big score is coming, but he has not crossed 15 even once. In fact, he has not yet surpassed the number that matches his own age. He does play one or two really good shots, sometimes exceptional ones, but it is the short ball that eventually gets him out. Ishan Kishan has also struggled against the short ball. He was dismissed in a similar fashion in the previous match,"