Former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar and ex-Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara have thrown their support behind captain Shreyas Iyer following India's first-ever bilateral T20I series loss to England, a 4-0 defeat that exposed critical weaknesses in the team's middle order, all-round depth, and fielding.
Nayar: Too Early to Judge Iyer as Captain
Speaking on JioHotstar's Match Centre Live after England sealed a 56-run victory in the fifth T20I in Southampton on July 11, 2026, Nayar argued that judging Iyer after just two series would be premature. He highlighted the lack of contributions from India's middle order compared to England's deep batting lineup.
“England had batters at numbers five, six, seven and eight who contributed. When it comes to India, you had Tilak at number five and Shivam Dube at number six, but they haven't contributed as much as England's middle order. Yes, there is a failure at the top of the order, but India also doesn't have enough depth when it comes to their all-rounders, and that is a huge concern,” Nayar said.
He also pointed to India's poor fielding as a critical issue. “The fielding has also been very poor. You can accept that a young side doesn't perform well with the bat and the ball, but not fielding well is unacceptable. In the shorter format, fielding wins you games. You do make errors sometimes, but throughout the series, India has been very poor in the field, and that's a big concern,” he added.
Need for Ownership and Clarity
Nayar stressed that Iyer, who took over from a champion side, needs time to shape the team according to his vision. “When you give someone the mantle of taking over from a champion side, you also want to give him the liberty of picking his side. The first time you become captain, you don't get the liberty of saying, 'This is where I want to take the team.' You first handle the team and then see what you need to do with it.
“Post these two series, he'll have time to reflect, understand what he requires from this team, how he needs them to play and what he needs from the support staff. So, it will be harsh to say that Shreyas Iyer's future is in jeopardy as a captain,” Nayar explained.
Pujara echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that Iyer should be given full ownership of the T20I side. “It's been a really hard series, and you can point fingers at Shreyas Iyer, but the more rational thing is to understand what he requires from this team. Give him the ownership of feeling like this is his team, like Harry Brook does right now, Ben Stokes did with the England Test team, or Rohit Sharma did for India when he was the captain, or Virat Kohli did, especially with the Test team. Then it's a better place to judge him.
“Even Shubman Gill, when he first became the ODI captain, didn't win a few series first up. As you get into your own, you build confidence and the team you envision. It's still early days, there's no panic button, but there needs to be clarity as to where this team is going,” Pujara said.
Short-Ball Struggles and World Cup Preparation
The series also highlighted India's vulnerability against the short ball, a concern with the 2028 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia on the horizon. Pujara called the England series a timely reality check.
“This series has been an eye-opener for them. Even when they played in Ireland and now in England, very rarely do you remember in a T20 format where teams have constantly targeted you with short balls. Almost every batter has been targeted with that. It just tells you that England were better prepared than the Indian team and most importantly, India failed to adapt.
“I think Australian conditions will be different. India has predominantly done well in Australia because the ball actually comes on. There is not a lot of spongy bounce like they've felt in England. It's a good wake-up call. It's a good reflection of what this team needs to do to win abroad. But I think come the World Cup, you'll find a more equipped team. And there'll be a lot of batters who'll go back and start working on the short ball immediately,” he added.
India's defeat marks their first bilateral T20I series loss to England, raising questions about the team's direction under Iyer. However, both Nayar and Pujara have called for patience, urging the management to provide Iyer with the support and clarity needed to rebuild the side ahead of the World Cup.
