Former England captain Michael Vaughan, funnily enough, said that he felt Team India would appoint Ricky Ponting as their head coach after announcing Shreyas Iyer as the new T20I captain. However, the star batter returned to the short-format side after 2023 and replaced Suryakumar Yadav as the skipper as well. Notably, Australian legend Ricky Ponting has played a huge role in Shreyas Iyer’s evolution as captain over the years, as they played a key role in Delhi Capitals’ (DC) journey to the finals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. They then joined the Punjab Kings (PBKS) later, progressing into the finals in the 2025 edition as well.

“When I heard it for the first time, I presumed Ricky Ponting would be the coach. Those two come as a pair. He is a very good captain, very good player, and that tells you how much depth and strength you have in Indian cricket, particularly in T20, when you are dropping the captain that just lifted the T20 World Cup. I’m not sure that would happen in any other country,” Michael Vaughan said on Ajinkya Rahane’s YouTube channel.

However, Team India, who have not lost a T20I series in almost three years, and have lost only six matches out of their last 35 matches since 2025, reached England as strong favourites. England, on the other hand, despite their semi-final run in the T20 World Cup 2026, are struggling in the shortest format under Harry Brook. Vaughan named the Indian team as favourites after they successfully defended the T20 World Cup title earlier this year.

READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

“Great opportunity for Iyer, a couple of years away from the next T20 World Cup, He’ll know he’s got a wonderful team to work with in the England tour, and you have got to say that India are going to be favorites for the series; they always are, they are the best team in the world. England will have to produce some good cricket to compete with them,” Michael Vaughan concluded.