India vs Ireland, 1st T20
India vs Ireland, 1st T20: India’s tour of Ireland will kick-start on August 18 with the first T20 match between the two teams. Jasprit Bumrah is leading the men in blue in this 3-match T20 series. On the other hand, Ireland will be led by Captain Paul Stirling.
Bumrah hasn’t played competitive cricket since India’s home T20 series against Australia last September. He also missed the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup last year. Less than six months after undergoing his back surgery in Christchurch, Jasprit Bumrah has returned. The long and excruciating process of rest, recovery and rehabilitation is officially over as BCCI’s social channels gave a glimpse of a full-tilt Bumrah in the nets on the eve of the first Ireland fixture, making batters duck and hop at bouncers and yorkers. The 29-year-old isn’t just back, he also leads the team in the three-match series that begins on Friday.
The impressive likes of Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma will hope they can cash in their IPL 2023 performances for an India debut and make it count like Tilak Varma has recently done.
Like India, the hosts too come armed with a new captain. One of their most seasoned war-horses Paul Stirling takes over the leadership. Though they suffered heartbreak at the ODI World Cup qualifiers and saw Andrew Balbirnie step down as captain in the aftermath of that tournament, Ireland quickly bounced back and secured a spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Ireland’s squad for the India games is full of players that earned their team the qualification, and they too boast an IPL 2023 star in Joshua Little who impressed for runners up Gujarat Titans.
India vs Ireland T20 series 2023: Schedule
Ireland vs India, 1st T20: August 18, 2023, Friday, at The Village, Dublin, starts from 7:30 PM IST
Ireland vs India, 2nd T20: August 20, 2023, Sunday at The Village, Dublin, starts from 7:30 PM IST
Ireland vs India, 3rd T20: August 23, 2023, Wednesday at The Village, Dublin, starts from 7:30 PM IST
India vs Ireland T20 series 2023: Squads
India’s squad: Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.
Ireland’s squad: Paul Stirling (Captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Lorcan Tucker (WK), Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, Theo van Woerkom, Benjamin White, Craig Young
Team news:
India
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma impressed in the series against West Indies despite not getting a series win. The three games in Dublin should allow them to take that further forward. Friday’s game could also be a chance for Rinku Singh – one of IPL 2023’s brightest sparks – to make his India debut.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
Ireland
Seasoned leg-spinner Gareth Delany, who has been sidelined since June with a wrist injury, should walk straight back into the playing XI.
Probable XI:Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Stirling (c), Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy, Benjamin White
Note: India vs Ireland match will be streamed live on the JioCinema app and website in India.