Indian cricket team will target a dominating win when they face hosts Ireland in the opening T20I match at Dublin's Village Ground on Friday (August 18). India suffered a shock T20I series defeat against West Indies under Hardik Pandya's captaincy but maintain a morale-boosting record against Ireland in the shortest form of cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah is set to return to action after a gap of 11 months and will captain the young side in the absence of senior figures in the team. Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) heroes are dominating the 15-member squad for the three-match series and all are likely to get some game time on this tour.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal are sure to open an innings in all three games with no backup opener available. It will be interesting to see who makes the cut for the middle-order spots with new faces Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma coming into the setup.
Sanju Samson struggled to make any impact against West Indies but is likely to start in the first game against Ireland and can bat in the no.3 position with no natural top-order batter available. Tilak Varma made an impactful debut in T20Is against West Indies and will be given preference to feature in the no.4 position.
Rinku Singh was sensational in the no.5 position at Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 and will be playing the finisher's role with Shivam Duble. Both Rinku and Dube are likely to start ahead of Jitesh but the latter can make his debut in the next two games if the initial plan fails to deliver results.
Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed will compete for the spin all-rounder spot at no.7 position. Shahbaz made his ODI debut last year but was not able to make a good impression so Sundar is the clear choice to feature in the all-rounder role. Ravi Bishnoi will partner Sundar as the second spin option after making only one appearance in five T20Is against West Indies.
In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the pace attack with Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna. Mukesh was decent on his debut across formats on the West Indies tour but took only three wickets in five T20Is. He is likely to be given rest for the first game and might spend the entire series on the bench.
Prasidh is making his return from a long-term injury and the management will prefer him over Avesh Khan in need of match fitness. Avesh was a surprise inclusion in the Indian team after failing to impress in IPL 2023 and will struggle to find a place in the playing XI for the first match against Ireland.
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prasidh Krishna, Shahbaz Ahmed
India's Predicted XI for 1st T20I: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Prasidh Krishna
