IRE vs IND: Probable India Playing XI for Ireland T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian team for the upcoming two-match T20I series against Ireland. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been appointed to lead the 17-man squad with experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his deputy. Many key players will miss this tour as they will travel to England to play the rescheduled fifth Test match slated to start on July 1.

Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer will also travel to England with the red-ball team, and the duo have been replaced by Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav. Samson had a decent run in IPL 2022 but was ignored for the ongoing South Africa series. He is expected to play both matches in Ireland as a wicketkeeper-batter at the number three position. Suryakumar also enjoyed a good IPL season but missed a handful of games due to a forearm injury.

But the biggest talking point is the maiden call for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Rahul Tripathi. The 31-year-old batter scored 413 runs at the strike rate of 158.23 in IPL 2022, and many were surprised with his exclusion from the current South Africa series. But the player has finally set to make his long-awaited debut for the Men in Blue.

 Here’s India predicted playing XI against Ireland:

1. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad is now a clear backup opener choice for Team India in  T20I matches. He started well against South Africa in the first match with a good knock of 23 runs but was caught on just one run in the second. However, he played an excellent knock of 57 runs off 35 balls in the third match to show his quality as an opener.

He won the Orange Cap in IPL 2021 but had a decent season this year. In IPL 2022, Gaikwad scored 368 runs,  the most by any CSK player, with a strike rate of 126.46. The right-handed batter also had an outstanding domestic season with Maharashtra in Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Gaikwad is expected to play the remaining two matches against South Africa and both fixtures against Ireland as well. It is now up to him to cement his place in team India after giving some quality performance with the bat.

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has squashed the criticism for his below-par strike rate with back-to-back explosive innings in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. He is currently leading the most-runs chart with 164 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 157.69.

He will find it difficult to play as an opener in the upcoming T20I World Cup in Australia, ahead of the first-choice pair Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. But both the players have struggled with injuries and fitness recently and Ishan will be the first choice for Team India if one of the senior batters does not make it to the playing XI for any reason.

Ishan has so far featured in 13 T20I matches for team Indian and has scored 453 runs at an average of 37.8 and a strike rate of 132.4. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter is likely to play both the matches in Ireland, given the lack of opening batters in the selected squad.

3. Sanju Samson (wk)

Sanju Samson was left out of the five-match T20I series against South Africa, which shocked many fans and experts, as he was impressive in IPL 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 458 runs at a strike rate of 146.79 in IPL this season.

Samson has been in and out for team India with just 174 runs in 13 T20I matches but was never given a chance to feature regularly and cement his place. He is expected to keep the wickets and bat either in the number three or four positions on the Ireland tour.

The talented batter needs to be more consistent with the bat in the chances coming his way as the competition for the middle-order positions will be fierce for the upcoming T20 World Cup in October this year. The right-handed batter will look to score some big runs in the upcoming matches to present his case.

4. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has already cemented his place in team India in both T20I and ODI formats, despite playing just 21 matches in international cricket so far. However, he cannot rest easy as Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik Pandya are also some of the prominent names for the middle order.

Suryakumar missed six out of fourteen matches for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022 due to a forearm injury. However, the dasher still managed to score 303 runs with an impressive strike rate of 145.67 and it might have been a different situation for MI if he had remained fit the entire season.

He is expected to play both the matches against Ireland as he needs match time before the upcoming T20I and ODI series against England next month. The talented right-handed batter will want to perform well in the upcoming limited-overs matches and book a ticket for himself for Australia.

5. Hardik Pandya (c)

The IPL-winning captain returned to the international arena in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at home. He has been appointed as the stand-in vice-captain with Pant taking the leadership role. Pandya has now been given a chance to showcase his leadership skills on the upcoming Ireland tour with Pant being with the Test squad.

The 28-year-old all-rounder impressed with his bat by finishing the first and third match with unbeaten 31-run knocks. But he failed to take any wickets in the first three matches with his economy rate being above 12 so far. He played at the number five position as a finisher role and fans can expect the same against Ireland.

Pandya and Pant are being groomed for the future captaincy roles and are expected to feature in the starting eleven for the upcoming T20 World Cup. However, both players need to be more consistent with their batting performances in the upcoming matches.

6. Dinesh Karthik

There aren’t many Indian players, who have made a national team comeback at the age of 37. Veteran batter Dinesh Karthik belongs to this rare category. He was recalled for the ongoing five-match series against South Africa and so far he has played decently for the Men in Blue.

Karthik didn’t get a chance to impress in the first match but he scored unbeaten 30 runs off 21 balls with two sixes in the second match. He certainly needs to do more in the remaining two matches against South Africa and on the Ireland tour as well to retain his spot even when the regulars come back.

Needless to mention, Karthik needs to give his best to put forward his name for the T20 World Cup. The senior batter is likely to feature in both matches against Ireland and will try to finish the Indian innings on a high note with his batting.

7. Axar Patel

The 28-year-old all-rounder was selected for the ongoing South Africa series thanks to his heroics with the bat for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2022. Axar scored 182 runs at a strike rate of 151.66 but took only six wickets in thirteen matches. He has also struggled in the first three matches against the Proteas and there have been many calls for his exclusion from the remaining two matches.

Axar has played a decent number of T20I matches but his numbers with both batting and bowling are not satisfying. The left-arm spinner will find it difficult to compete with Ravindra Jadeja if he continues to perform below average.

Axar needs to impress with both bat and ball on the Ireland tour if he wants to be considered for the place in the upcoming T20 World Cup. India are likely to go with Jadeja and Chahal as a spin duo with Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav as backup options in the mega tournament.

8. Harshal Patel

The right-arm pacer Harshal Patel has impressed with the ball whenever he got the chance to play at the international level. He took four wickets while conceding just 25 runs in the third match against South Africa and was brilliant in the second match as well with an economical bowling spell.

Harshal won the Purple Cap in IPL 2021 with 32 wickets and also took 19 more this season to prove his consistency. He has featured in 11 T20I matches for India and has taken 17 wickets so far, including six wickets in the ongoing South Africa series. He is likely to play both the matches against Ireland as his batting skills give him an advantage over the other selected pacers.

It will be safe to add that, Harshal is ahead of every other pacer to partner Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The right-arm pacer will want to continue his good performance with the ball in the remaining two matches against South Africa.

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The experienced India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made an excellent comeback after being marred with injuries for quite some time previously. However, the right-arm pacer is now looking at his vintage best and is bowling with a lot of consistency.

He managed to take 12 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.34 in the recently concluded IPL 2022 season and he continued his good form in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. He is currently leading the most-wickets chart with six wickets in three matches at an average of 12.83 and an economy rate of 6.41.

Bhuvneshwar has also been named vice-captain for the Ireland tour and is expected to feature in both fixtures, with the England tour scheduled next month. The senior pacer will want to do well in the upcoming matches to prepare for the upcoming World Cup in Australia.

10. Yuzvendra Chahal

Star Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal silenced his critics with a match-winning performance in the third T20I match against South Africa. He took only one wicket and proved costly in the first two matches but took three big wickets in the third match and conceded just 20 runs.

Chahal finished the IPL 2022 season as the highest wicket-taker with 27 wickets after going through an average spell for Team India. He is likely to be the team’s first-choice spin option in the upcoming T20 World Cup but he needs to do well in the upcoming series as well.

Notably, India has struggled to take wickets in the middle overs in recent T20I matches and Chahal’s form will be a key to solving this issue. Chahal impressed many with his wicket-taking ability in the death overs in the IPL 2022 and the Indian side can try to test him in death overs against Ireland.

11. Umran Malik

The 22-year-old speedster has been one of the most talked-about bowlers in India thanks to his terrific bowling spell in IPL 2022. Umran took 22 wickets in just 14 matches, the highest among Indian pacers but mainly made the headlines for his bowling speed. He bowled over 150 kmph consistently throughout the tournament, including a 157 kmph delivery to Rovman Powell.

The speedster received his maiden national team call-up for the ongoing South Africa series but is yet to make an appearance. He is expected to replace the ineffective Avesh Khan in the fourth match to make his debut in Rajkot on Friday night.

Many are expecting Umran to feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup as India is struggling to find a pacer who can take wickets in middle overs. But he needs to prove that on the international level with so much media pressure building up recently. He is expected to play both the matches on the Ireland tour and a few wickets might earn him the call-up for the England tour next month.