India will be led by Hardik Pandya during their two-match T20I tour of Ireland in late June. Due to the absence of a number of regulars who will be in England training for the Edgbaston Test match, Hardik will have the opportunity to apply his leadership qualities to international cricket, something he demonstrated while captaining Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title.
India Squad
Hardik Pandya (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik— BCCI (@BCCI) June 15, 2022
Rahul Tripathi, who made 413 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently finished IPL season at an average of 37.54 and a strike rate of 158.23, has been called up for the first time. His performances, which were typified by his willingness to take risks early in his innings, earned significant plaudits, with many experts predicting that he would be ready to play international cricket.
Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav, two additional middle-order batsmen, have been recalled, with the latter having recovered from a forearm injury that kept him out of the last rounds of the IPL and India’s upcoming home T20I series against South Africa.
The rest of the roster is expected, with no unforced changes from the side that is currently trailing South Africa 2-1 in the five-game series after three games. Only Rishabh Pant, who is captaining India in that series, and Shreyas Iyer, who will both be part of India’s Test team in England, are not included.
Dinesh Karthik is listed as the wicketkeeper in the BCCI announcement naming the squad, but both he and Ishan Kishan can fill in if Pant is unavailable. The two uncapped fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik, who have yet to face South Africa, will also travel to Ireland.
VVS Laxman will coach India on the tour in place of normal head coach Rahul Dravid, who will be in England with the Test squad. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule, and fielding coach Munish Bali will aid Laxman.
The two T20Is will be held in Malahide on June 26 and 28.
