On Saturday, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel will convene in Mumbai to pick the squads for India's T20I series in Ireland (two matches in June) followed by England (five matches in July) as well as the 2026 Asian Games which are scheduled in Japan in September.
With the series against West Indies running parallel, the selectors are likely to deliberate on whether to send a first-choice squad to the Asian Games where a medal is at stake. For the UK tour, though, will the selectors look at some of the performers from 2026 IPL? ESPNcricinfo looks at some key questions Agarkar's panel will potentially consider.
Retain Suryakumar as captain?
This is likely to be the most pressing question for the selectors. While India became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup under his captaincy, Suryakumar Yadav's batting form has continued to be a point of debate this year. In IPL 2026, he managed only 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and strike rate of 147.54. These weren't numbers befitting a multiple IPL winner. Even in the T20 World Cup, which preceded the IPL, Suryakumar had struggled, scoring 242 runs in nine innings, with the strike rate dropping further to 136.72. His most significant contribution came in India's opening game against USA in Mumbai, where he earned the Player-of-the-Match award for his unbeaten 84.
Suryakumar will turn 36 this September, and incidentally, he is not part of the 30 names the BCCI submitted in January as part of India's provisional squad for the forthcoming Asian Games. The next global T20 tournament will be the LA28 Olympics, which Suryakumar said he is aiming to play. Will the selectors, though, look at a younger captain especially for the immediate few series? Or would they do that and include Suryakumar as a player in the squad for his experience?
Sooryavanshi a shoo-in?
The manner in which 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed bowling attacks in his first full IPL season and the way in which he responded to match situations have convinced the selectors that he needs to be given the opportunity to play T20Is. If there is a question, it is likely to revolve around how to fit him into the playing XI, considering Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson along with Ishan Kishan formed the top order during India's successful defence of the T20 World Cup title in March. The likely solution could be to rotate the openers, providing Sooryvanshi the stage to show his magic at a potentially higher level.
What about Shreyas and Patidar?
Both Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar have been the standout leaders across the last two seasons of the IPL. While Patidar joined an exclusive club of captains to lead their franchise to consecutive IPL titles this season, Shreyas, since joining Punjab Kings in 2025, has captained the team impressively, leading them to the final in 2025. Having had successful stints with Delhi Capitals and then winning the title in 2024 with Kolkata Knight Riders, Shreyas is a clear favourite to take over the T20 captaincy for India. But first he needs to find a spot, which he couldn't during the World Cup.
The same holds for Patidar, who was a key catalyst in Royal Challengers Bengaluru defending their IPL title, both as a batter and as a captain. But with both Shreyas and Patidar vying for the same slot in the middle order, only one of them is likely to find a spot in the squad.
What about Hardik Pandya?
Back spasms exacerbated another forgettable IPL for Hardik Pandya, who struggled to make an impact - both as a captain and as an allrounder - since Mumbai Indians brought him back and installed him as a captain ahead of the 2024 IPL. While he remains among the key performers for India in global tournaments, his fitness has been a challenge with Hardik being sidelined by niggles and injuries in the past.
Having included him in the ODI squad for the home series against Afghanistan, the selectors would want to test Hardik's all-round ability, including whether he can bowl his full quota of ten overs if need be. That will continue to be their focus as they narrow down the best 15 for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Potentially then the selectors could look at the pair of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube to perform the allrounder's role in the T20Is starting with UK tour.