​Shreyas Iyer’s sister, Shresta, has stepped in to defend the India captain amid the backlash following the Ireland defeat and India’s winless start in T20Is. She argues that captaining a side isn’t solely about collecting victories, pointing out that even cricketing legends such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Sachin Tendulkar have endured defeats. India remain without a win under Shreyas, having lost the T20I series 2-0 to Ireland and suffered two consecutive setbacks in England after the earlier series loss.
Shresta Iyer’s remarks come during a period of intense scrutiny over India’s new leadership. She told Filmygyan that a captain’s worth cannot be judged purely by results and stressed that there is much more to captaincy than wins and losses. “Wait and watch. I know he has that in him. Things don’t work in your favour every time. It’s easy for us to comment that he’s losing as a captain. Cricket is way beyond that,” she said. “You don’t know how the pitch is, whether it’s a bowler-friendly or batsman-friendly surface, or whether the toss went in his favour. You’re only looking at his captaincy. Look at the matches he has won as captain.”
She reminded critics that India’s leadership has always faced pressure and that even the greatest India captains have tasted defeat. “When you represent India, there are a lot of expectations. It’s not just about being a good or bad captain. All the captains who have led India—whether it’s Shubman Gill or the legends Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Sachin Tendulkar—have also lost many matches,” she stated. In closing, Shresta acknowledged that the criticism surrounding Shreyas has been excessive and expressed confidence that better days lie ahead. “If you only point at Shreyas Iyer, maybe there’s an underlying issue with the way you’re looking at things. He is a very different personality overall, and he has a lot to give. That time will come very soon.”
The remaining two matches in India’s England series offer Shreyas Iyer a chance to secure his first win as captain and shift the narrative. Given that the series opener was washed out and the team then endured consecutive losses, a tied or victorious outcome could help ease the mounting pressure and demonstrate that India’s new leadership can deliver under test conditions.