Team India squad for Ireland series announced; Hardik Pandya to lead, Suryakumar Yadav returns

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday (June 15) announced the India squad for the Ireland series. The squad named for the two-match T20I series will be led by Hardik Pandya, while Suryakumar Yadav also makes a comeback after injury. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, meanwhile, has been named his deputy for the series. India will play two T20Is on June 26th and 28th in Dublin.

Also, the only new face in the side is Maharashtra right-hand batter Rahul Tripathi, who was rewarded for his stellar batting during this edition of IPL where he scored more than 400 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, whose profligacy has been well documented over the years, gets another shot at redemption, as he made a comeback for the series, having guided Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final.

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

Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title, will captain India in absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma. The 35-year-old Sharma along with Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Md Shami, Rishabh Pant and others will be in England for the rescheduled 5th Test, when another Indian squad will play T20Is in Ireland.

Notably, the designated wicketkeeper will be 36-year-old Dinesh Karthik if one goes by the squad list, while both Ishan Kishan and Samson can keep wickets if need be. Samson's keeping isn't considered up to the mark, so he could well be the third keeper in the mix.

Interestingly, VVS Laxman will serve as the head coach on tour and will be assisted by Shitanshu Kotak (batting coach), Sairaj Bahutule (bowling coach) and Munish Bali (fielding coach).

Earlier, Ireland Cricket Board announced a 14-player squad for the series against India. The squad named for the two-match T20I series against India includes call-ups for two of the North West Warriors squad - top-order batter Stephen Doheny and pace bowler Conor Olphert. Both players were recently handed retainer contracts by Cricket Ireland.

Both Doheny and Olphert make it to the squad on the back of stunning campaigns in the ongoing Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy. While Doheny, a top-order batter, has gathered 158 runs at an average of 52.67, Olphert has bagged six wickets at 19.17 apiece.

India's T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik

Ireland Men's T20I squad: Andrew Balbirnie (Captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Craig Young.