Malahide (Ireland): India’s second-row players, including Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson, will get another chance to prove themselves in the two-match T20I series against Ireland starting Sunday before the return of senior cricketers. Hardik Pandya will also make his captaincy debut at the international level.

Hardik will take over the command of Team India for the first time

Pandya, who impressed with his captaincy in the Indian Premier League after Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the Test team in England, has been handed over the reins of the team. Pant led the team in the home T20I series against South Africa after Rohit Sharma was rested and KL Rahul injured. Now Hardik has been handed the responsibility and a lot is expected of him from his stellar performance as the captain of Gujarat Titans.

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VVS Laxman is playing the role of coach

The head of the National Cricket Academy, VVS Laxman, plays the role of coach in this series as head coach Rahul Dravid is in England with the Test team. He is expected to follow the same strategy as his former partner. Both these matches will help in preparing the ‘core group’ for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year. And the team for the three matches against England next month.

Players like Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda may get a chance in the series against Ireland

In the home series against South Africa, Dravid retained the team in all five matches despite losing the first two matches. The series was tied 2-2 after the fifth match was washed out due to rain. With the inclusion of Pant and Shreyas Iyer in the Test squad. Players like Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda can get a chance in the series against Ireland. Samson could not establish himself in the T20 team despite getting many opportunities and in such a situation. The opportunity will be very important for him.

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Suryakumar Yadav is returning

Suryakumar Yadav, who has returned from a wrist injury, is likely to bat at No. 3 or 4. Ishan Kishan had a stellar performance against South Africa. Which he would like to carry on but the pressure will be on opening partner Gaekwad. Who looked uncomfortable in front of the fast bowlers in the previous series. India pacer Umran Malik and yorker specialist Arshdeep Singh can also get a chance here.

Team India is strong without veterans

As far as Ireland is concerned, their players will try to grab people’s attention. By performing well against a strong India. Stephen Doheny and Conor Olfert have found their first place in the Andrew Balbirnie-led side. Balbirnie has already said that India are very strong despite the absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.

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The two teams are as follows:

India: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Camper, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olfert, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

The match will start at 9 pm Indian time.