A second-string Indian team led by Hardik Pandya will take on Andrew Balbirnie's Ireland side in the first of the two-match T20I series at The Village, Dublin on Sunday. All eyes will be on Pandya's captaincy. It will be interesting to see if Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh could make their international debut. Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel are likely to sit out if the Malik and Singh are to make their debuts. Sanju Samson who captained Rajasthan Royals to the final of IPL 2022, is likely to get the opportunity to play in the middle order. Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi would be warming the bench in this series.
Snapshots from #TeamIndia's training session at the Malahide Cricket Club, Ireland.
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 25, 2022
This will also be the first time Pandya will be leading India in an international game. Hardik is coming on the back of the IPL 2022 win and solid performances in the T20s vs South Africa. Speaking on the eve of the 1st India vs Ireland T20, Hardik said that he likes taking responsibility for leading a side. He relished the opportunity in IPL, and now is looking to do the same with the T20 national side.
India Probable XI: Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (c), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal
Ireland Probable XI: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little
Full Squads
Ireland Squad: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie(c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Stephen Doheny, Conor Olphert
India Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya(c), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Umran Malik
