New Delhi: Shreyas Iyer’s maiden outing as India T20I captain ended on a disappointing note as Ireland beat the defending world champions by 34 runs in Belfast on Friday, relegating the Mumbai batsman to an unwelcome spot in the record books.After this defeat, Iyer became the fourth Indian captain to miss out on his first T20I coaching opportunity, joining the unfortunate list that includes Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.Kohli’s first game as T20I captain ended in a loss to England in Kanpur in 2017. Pant suffered the same fate against South Africa in Delhi in 2022, while Gill’s captaincy debut came in a loss to Zimbabwe in Harare in 2024. Ayer has now added his name to that list after his historic victory in Ireland.The result also marked Ireland’s first win over India in men’s international cricket.
India captain loses maiden T20I captaincy
- Virat Kohli vs England in Kanpur 2017
- Rishabh Pant vs South Africa in Delhi 2022
- Harare 2024, Shubman Gill vs Zimbabwe
- Shreyas Iyer vs Ireland in Belfast 2026
Historic return overshadowed by historic failure
Ironically, Iyer came into the tournament with an impressive record.The 31-year-old returned to the India T20I national team after missing 63 consecutive matches since December 2023 against Australia, his longest absence before captaining the country in T20 internationals.His captaincy debut also brought two other milestones. At the age of 31 years and 202 days, he became the third oldest player in the Indian team to make his T20I captaincy debut, after Shikhar Dhawan and Suryakumar Yadav.Before captaining India for the first time, Iyer also became the most experienced T20 captain with 114 T20 matches in the team and domestic cricket, ahead of Rohit Sharma (80), Virat Kohli (72) and KL Rahul (42).
Irish rookie steals the show
However, once the action begins, these records mean little.Asked to bat first, Ireland performed well from 51 for 4 to 182 for 9, thanks to a fluid 50 from captain Lorcan Tucker and 49 from Gareth Delany.Despite Abhishek Sharma’s explosive fifty, India’s chase never gained momentum. Ireland’s debut proved to be different, with India-born left-arm pacer Jai Moondra taking 2 for 25 and Matt Hollard’s 3 for 28 to spark a batting collapse.India were eventually bowled out for 148 with seven balls to spare, giving Ireland one of the greatest victories in its cricketing history.
