India, July 1 -- Newly appointed India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that his elevation to the role did not come as a surprise, insisting he had expected the opportunity to arrive sooner rather than later.

Iyer replaced Suryakumar Yadav, who led India to a successful T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year, after the conclusion of IPL 2026.

While Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma were also reportedly in contention for the role, the BCCI selection committee eventually placed its faith in Iyer, despite him not featuring in either of India's previous two T20 World Cup squads and having last played a T20I in December 2023. He began his captaincy tenure during the Ireland tour last month and will continue to lead India in the upcoming five-...