Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer has entered the record books even before the result of India’s second T20I against Afghanistan was decided. On Tuesday, September 15, Shreyas Iyer led India against Afghanistan in the second match of the ongoing three-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to field first. That victory at the toss was special because it was his 12th T20I as India captain and it helped him create a new world record. The right-handed Mumbai batter has now won more tosses as captain after 12 T20Is than any other captain in the world.
Since becoming India’s T20I captain in June 2026, starting with the series against Ireland, Shreyas Iyer has won an incredible 11 tosses in 12 matches. That is more than the 10 tosses each won by Mirza Baig of Qatar and Henry Tyler of the Philippines. Among players from full-member nations, the previous best tally was nine toss wins, achieved by England’s Eoin Morgan and Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah.
Shreyas Iyer has lost only one toss so far as India’s T20I captain. That came against Zimbabwe in the second T20I at Harare Sports Club on June 25, 2026. However, his success at the toss has not been matched by India’s results on the field.
Shreyas Iyer replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain in June 2026, despite SKY having led India to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2026. Under Shreyas Iyer, India have won only four of their 11 completed T20Is so far.
His captaincy journey began with back-to-back defeats against Ireland in Belfast. India then suffered four consecutive defeats in England. As a result, Shreyas Iyer remained without a win in his first seven T20Is as India’s captain. His first victory finally came against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 23. India then added three more wins — two against Zimbabwe and one against Afghanistan.
So, while Shreyas Iyer has already created a remarkable world record with the toss, his overall captaincy record remains a contrasting part of his early stint as India’s T20I skipper.
All the best to Shreyas Iyer for his captaincy stint!
