India vs Ireland, India Playing 11 vs Ireland (Predicted)- IND vs IRE 1st T20I

India vs Ireland, India Playing 11 vs Ireland (Predicted)- IND vs IRE 1st T20I. India will face Ireland in a two-match T20I series, starting June 26 at Dublin, Malahide. The match will start at 9 pm IST. All-rounder Hardik Pandya will be leading the visitors. Of late, India levelled the T20I series against the Proteas by 2-2, with the fifth outing being abandoned due to rain. Meanwhile, Ireland is enjoying a decent form, having won three of their last five T20Is.

The Indian team, under the leadership of new skipper Hardik Pandya, will play two T20Is against Ireland before they turn to England for a full-fledged limited over series. This side touring Ireland is not the 1st string team that will face England as the regulars will be involved in playing the rescheduled 5th Test against hosts England.

Thus, it is a test of bench strength and an opportune moment for the youngsters involved to showcase that they deserve the chance in England too. On the other hand, Ireland has a golden opportunity to grab the attention of the audiences and the IPL owners because a performance against India never goes unnoticed in the cricketing world.

India has named a 17-man squad for the T20I series against Ireland. The team’s captain is Hardik Pandya. Uncapped players in the squad include Rahul Tripathi, Arshdeep Singh, and Umran Malik. The team also includes experienced players such as vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik, and Ishan Kishan.

Sanju Samson also returns to the squad after being ignored for the ongoing series against South Africa. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have been left out of the squad as they are going to be part of the Test squad in England. Suryakumar Yadav will also make a return from injury.

The visitors will like to avoid any injury on the Ireland tour for the England tour’s sake. Harshal Patel is set to play a crucial role and could be rested for Arshdeep Singh. Avesh Khan who featured in India Playing XI for all five games against Proteas is set to be benched for Umran Malik.

Interestingly, the visitors may take a completely different approach by resting the players that played against South Africa. This way they could be giving an opportunity to players who couldn’t play against South Africa. So, the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, and Venkatesh Iyer may be given an opportunity first.

India vs Ireland, India Playing 11 vs Ireland (Predicted)- IND vs IRE 1st T20I

Ruturaj Gaikwad

India might plan to play their experienced players in Ireland vs India 1st T20I and then give chance to debutants in the 2nd T20I. Ruturaj Gaikwad will probably open the innings for the team in the 1st T20I. During the recent T20I series against South Africa, the right-handed batsman slammed 96 runs in 5 T20I games averaging 19.2. He scored a good knock of 54 in one game.

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan will be the other opener for the team in the 1st T20I. The Ishan Kishan-Ruturaj Gaikwad pair did a commendable job as openers in the last series, developing some good opening stands. Ishan Kishan was very impressive in the last series, smashing 206 runs in 5 innings at an average of 41.20 with 2 half-centuries. He was the highest run-getter in the series against Proteas.

Sanju Samson

So far, Sanju Samson has played one ODI and 13 T20Is for India scoring 46 and 174 runs respectively. Sanju Samson has been a consistent performer in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals over the last two seasons. The skipper led Rajasthan Royals to the final of IPL 2022, scoring 458 runs at a strike rate of close to 150.

Sanju Samson has struggled to replicate his IPL exploits at the international level as the Kerala batter, who made his debut in 2015, has managed 174 runs at a meagre average of 14.50 in 13 T20Is.

Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav might bat at the no.3 spot in the 1st T20I. The right-handed batter will be back on the field after a long time. He was part of IPL 2022 but was ruled out due to an injury midway. Suryakumar Yadav gave a good performance in IPL 2022, hitting 303 runs in just 8 games at an average of 43.29 with 3 half-centuries.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is the skipper of India in the Ireland T20I series and will lead the team in the opening game. The right-handed batsman showed a good performance in the previous series against Proteas smashing 117 runs in 4 innings at an average of 58.50. He slammed quickfire knocks in the death at a strike rate of 153+. He was the 3rd highest run-getter in the preceding T20I series.

Taking extra responsibility on the batting front at No. 3-4, Hardik Pandya topped the runs chart for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 with 487 runs at an average of 44.27 with a strike rate of 131.26.  He also filled in the fifth/sixth bowler’s capacity, taking 8 wickets with a healthy economy rate of 7.27 to dispel doubts around his bowling fitness. The right-arm seamer reserved his best for the last by delivering an impactful spell of 3 for 17 off his 4 overs in the IPL 2022 final.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik might be a lower-order batsman and the wicketkeeper for the team. In the absence of Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik will be a better option as a wicketkeeper for the team. The right-handed batsman slammed 92 runs in 4 innings in the previous series. Like Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik also scored quickfire runs in the death, batting at a strike rate of 158+.

Dinesh Karthik had taken IPL 2022 by storm with his incredible power-hitting skills in the slog overs. He scored 330 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 183.33 with one half-century averaging 55.  Dinesh Karthik made his India debut in 2004 and went on to play India’s first-ever T20I match. If all goes well, he will play the ICC T20I World Cup 2022 at the ripe age of 36.

Deepak Hooda

For a stellar IPL 2022 season in which he scored 451 runs for new entrant Lucknow Super Giants, Hooda received high appreciation from the cricket fraternity. He contributed significantly to Lucknow’s run to the playoffs by scoring four half-centuries in 15 games.

Venkatesh Iyer is also another contender for the 2nd all-rounder’s spot. Deepak Hooda has played 2 ODIs and 3 T20Is  averaging 55 and 21 respectively in the aforementioned formats respectively. He has also picked a solitary ODI scalp.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the vice-captain will be one of the pacers for India in IRE vs IND 1st T20I. The right-arm pacer grabbed the limelight in the IND vs SA series by winning the player of the series award. The right-arm pacer picked 6 wickets in 4 innings. His X-factor was his economy rate, as he conceded runs at an economy of just 6.07.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal will be the spinner for the team in IRE vs IND 1st T20I. Since the team already has several pacers, picking a full-time spinner will be a good option. The right-arm spinner gave a brilliant performance in the previous series, picking 6 wickets in 5 games at an average of 19.33.

Arshdeep Singh

He picked 18 scalps in IPL 2021 in 12 games averaging a mere 19 last season. So far, he has 40 scalps in 37 IPL games averaging 26.35 with a best of 5/32. He may debut against Ireland in the 1st T20I as the likes of Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel may be rested.

Umran Malik

Sunrisers Hyderabad pace sensation Umran Malik has been one of the finds of the 15th season of the cash-rich league. He has impressed the selectors not just with his raw pace, clocking consistently over 150 kph, but also with his wicket-taking abilities.

In 14 games this season, he has picked 22 wickets for SRH at a strike rate of just 13.57 and an economy rate of 9.03. Umran Malik, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s leading wicket-taker this season had picked 22 scalps from 14 IPL 2022 games averaging an impressive 20.18 with a best of 5/25.