'It would be a good challenge'- Irish all-rounder Gareth Delany excited to play against Suryakumar Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Ireland all-rounder Gareth Delany has said that he is eagerly awaiting a chance to lock horns with India’s limited-overs sensation Suryakumar Yadav and senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the two-match T20I series that gets underway on Sunday, June 26. Giving further clarification on the same, Delany said that while Suryakumar is outstanding with his 360 degrees cricketing shots, Kumar is one of the best new-ball bowlers in the shortest format.

It will be a tough challenge for Ireland in their own backyard as they will be up against a formidable Indian side who have been excellent in the T20Is after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup last November in the UAE. The Men in Blue staged a remarkable comeback to finish the five-match home series against South Africa 2-2 after losing the first two games, where the final game got washed off.

It’d be really cool to bowl to Suryakumar Yadav: Gareth Delany

“It’d be really cool to bowl to Suryakumar Yadav. He’s an incredibly talented batter who can play 360 degrees and mix it up between power and finesse. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also one of the world’s best new-ball bowlers in T20 and has a very low economy rate for T20 cricket, so it would be a good challenge to go against someone of his calibre,” said Delany during a press release ahead of the T20I series.

“It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity to go against the world’s best as we start off our international summer of fixtures. It’ll be a very stiff challenge against some of the best players in this format but it’s very exciting all the same. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put in two strong performances,” he added.

India will be led by Hardik Pandya with limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul being ruled out for a prolonged period of time due to a groin injury. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be Pandya’s deputy for this series which will be played in Dublin. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether emerging pacers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik finally get a chance to make their India debut.