"He does what he likes" - Ajay Jadeja on Shreyas Iyer's captaincy in NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

Former India player Ajay Jadeja has opined that Shreyas Iyer leads the side the way he wants. He highlighted that the Indian T20I skipper has shown consistency and confidence as a leader.

Shreyas led India to a 3-2 win in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The visitors sealed the series after winning the first three games, but suffered reversals in the last two matches.

Reviewing the series on SonyLIV, Jadeja was asked about his thoughts on Shreyas' captaincy.

"I think Shreyas Iyer's captaincy has been consistent since the time I have seen him. He is a confident, young captain. He does what he likes. He even tried a little today," he responded.

The former India captain pointed out that Shreyas didn't have much scope to show his captaincy skills due to a lack of specialist bowling options.

"He tried to make changes in the bowling differently when he had five pure bowlers. However, until you play five bowlers, what decision can a captain make? He doesn't have choices at all," he observed.

India played three specialist seamers, with Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fourth and fifth bowlers in the first four T20Is. They brought in Varun Chakaravarthy at Axar's expense in the final T20I, with Nitish continuing to be the fifth bowling option.

"That's a double-edged sword" - Ajay Jadeja on India's team selection in NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

In the same interaction, Ajay Jadeja noted that India's tendency to play more all-rounders has pros and cons.

"Our thought process is that we are going more towards all-rounders. That's a double-edged sword. The day you have to bat first, it's a loss, which we got to see in the last match. However, if you bat second - you chased 225 in the first match - it goes in your favor. It's a policy decision or a difference in the team's thought process. There is no right or wrong in that," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that he would prefer playing five frontline bowlers to ensure the captain has proper resources at his disposal.

"If you ask me, I talk about five bowlers. If you see any series of 10 matches, the No. 6 to No. 8 don't get to bat until the 18th over, but all five bowlers bowl in those 10 matches. It's your choice how you want to see it. When a team plays five bowlers, the captain's hands are not tied," Jadeja observed.

Ajay Jadeja highlighted that an eighth batter is not required if the top seven play well. He pointed out that India suffered an 87-run loss in the fourth T20I despite playing eight batters.

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