The Indian cricket team have named Hardik Pandya as the captain for the upcoming tour of Ireland, where the team will play 2 T20Is. Hardik has been named captain with Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the deputy for the two games. The BCCI made the announcement on Wednesday evening.
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer aren't part of the squad as they will be with the Test team in England. Meanwhile Suryakumar Yadav is back from injury and in the squad. Rajasthan Royals' skipper Sanju Samson also makes the cut along with Rahul Tripathi, who scored 413 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the recently concluded IPL, at a strike rate of 158.23. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri had told ESPN that Tripathi isn’t far off from a call-up.
Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli continue to miss the T20 games for India currently, as they are focusing on the tour of England. Veteran Dinesh Karthik holds his spot, while Yuzvendra Chahal keeps his place too. The injured Kuldeep Yadav is not a part of the squad yet.
Bowlers Arshdeep and Umran too are part of the squad along with Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel.
Hardik's captaincy was praised by one and all when he led the Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title in their debut season in IPL 2022. Hardik is currently the vice-captain for the Indian team in the ongoing series against South Africa, where Pant is the skipper.
India have named a 17 member squad for the series in Ireland. The teams will play two games on 26 and 28 June in Dublin, before the Indian team begins the tour of England, which begins with a Test match from the previous tour.
VVS Laxman will coach India in Ireland, standing in for regular head coach Rahul Dravid who will be with the Test squad in England. Laxman will be assisted by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule and fielding coach Munish Bali. The Test team regulars will fly directly for the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston.
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
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