Hardik Pandya to lead India in Ireland T20Is; Rahul Tripathi receives maiden call-up

Hardik Pandya has been named India's captain for their upcoming tour of Ireland, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Wednesday. Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been appointed Hardik's deputy for the two-match T20I series in Ireland.

The two T20Is against Ireland will be without Team India's regular Test members as they will directly fly to England to prepare for the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Ahead of the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa, Hardik was elevated to vice-captaincy and has served as Rishabh Pant's deputy after original captain KL Rahul was ruled out with a groin injury. Hardik recently led Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League (IPL) glory in their maiden season.

Among the Indian players in the underway South Africa series who will miss the Ireland games are Pant and Shreyas Iyer, who will be in England with the Test squad. Replacing them are Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi, who has received a maiden India call-up.

These two have been included in the side following their impressive IPL 2022 season. Samson scored 374 runs at strike rate of147.24 and captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the finals of the tournament while Tripathi was one of the promising players for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who otherwise had a forgettable season, scoring 413 runs at strike rate of158.23.

India's T20I squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), 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