IND vs ENG: Shreyas Iyer sets unwanted record with winless start to India T20I captaincy

Shreyas Iyer has endured a forgettable start to his India T20I captaincy career. Five matches into his India T20I captaincy career, India are yet to register a win under the Mumbai cricketer.

Iyer took charge in early June, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, who was removed as skipper despite leading the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year.

Iyer's reign has begun with a shock 2-0 series loss to Ireland in Belfast, where India twice failed to chase down targets.

India's struggles continued leading into the T20I series against England in England.

The first T20I in Chester-Le-Street was washed out due to rain, but not before the Men in Blue posted 189/7, with fifties from Abhishek Sharma and Iyer.

India then lost the second T20I in Manchester, and things turned from bad to worse after they were bowled out for just 76 while looking to chase down a target of 202 in the third T20I.

Shreyas Iyer's forgettable start to his India T20I career

Iyer has now endured the worst-ever start for any India captain in T20Is, with India suffering four losses in the first five matches under the 31-year-old. No other Indian T20I captain had remained winless in his first five matches.

Under Rishabh Pant, who has only led India in five T20Is overall, the Men in Blue won two matches, lost as many, while one other match ended in a no-result. Virat Kohli, who had taken over as India's T20I skipper in 2017, lost his first match against England in the shortest format, but went on to win the series 2-1.

MS Dhoni, on the other hand, had begun his T20I captaincy career with two wins, one loss, one tie (won the bowl-out vs Pakistan at the 2007 T20 World Cup) and one no-result. However, the Jharkhand cricketer went on to guide the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup title, beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.

In the aftermath of India's T20I series loss to Ireland, Iyer has joined Shikhar Dhawan in a forgettable list. Iyer and Dhawan are the only Indian T20I captains to lose their first assignments as skipper. 

Dhawan, however, was not a permanent captain during the 2021 away series against Sri Lanka and was only a stand-in skipper. India lost that series 2-1.

After their heavy defeat to England in Nottingham in the third T20I on Tuesday, Iyer lamented India's "atrocious" performance. 

“It was atrocious; losing by that margin is not acceptable. First things first, we have to accept the loss and go back to drawing board," Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Iyer urged his teammates to move on from the recent defeats and aim to make a strong comeback.

While the Men in Blue cannot win the T20I series anymore, they can at least salvage a 2-2 drawn series if they win the fourth and fifth matches. 

Bristol's County Ground will host the fourth T20I on Thursday. 

“We need to come back strong and not dwell too much about the past. Every individual has to think and see how they can contribute to the team," he said.