Published on: Aug 01, 2023
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors have named the Indian squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been away from the game due to a back injury, makes a much awaited comeback and has also been named captain for the short series. The 29-year-old last turned out for India in a T20I against Australia in September 2022.
Interestingly, opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has only featured in one ODI and nine T20Is, has been named vice-captain of the second-string side, which featured a number of young and inexperienced names. The T20I squad includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh, while big-hitting Shivam Dube also finds a place in the team.
Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeeper-batters in the squad. In the bowling department, fast bowler Prasidh Krishna makes a comeback from injury. Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan are the other members of the bowling outfit.
The three T20I matches of the India-Ireland series will be played in Malahide, Dublin on August 18, 20 and 22.
Team India squad for T20I series against Ireland: 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
Meanwhile, India face a must-win situation in the ODI series against West Indies. Having lost the second ODI in Barbados, the three-match series is now level 1-1. The final one-dayer will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad on Tuesday, August 1.
According to former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, the visitors will need to play both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli if they want to win the decider against West Indies. According to Chopra, India can continue to experiment if they want to, but must play a full-strength outfit if they aim to win the series.
He told JioCinema, “If you were to look at the series for experiments, why stop? If you’re going in with the philosophy that ‘I am going to try a lot of cricketers, I’m going to give chances to the players who haven’t gotten enough game time.’ Why change? You’ve done it in the first game, you’ve done it in the second game. Just give more opportunities to the players who haven’t gotten enough in the past.”
India rested both Rohit and Kohli for the second ODI and ended up losing the game by six wickets following a shocking batting collapse.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
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