India?s Squad for Ireland announced, Schedule, Hardik named captain

India?s Squad for Ireland announced, Schedule, Hardik named captain: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 17-men strong Indian squad for the upcoming tour of Ireland, which begins on June 26. The Indian side is fixed to tour Ireland for two matches T20I series after the conclusion of the ongoing home five matches T20I series against the Proteas.

On expected lines, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who impressed everyone with his captaincy in the IPL, has been handed leadership of the national side in the absence of regular players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.

While Pandya has been given the leadership role, pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar is named as his deputy for the short tour.

Rahul Tripathi has finally received his maiden call-up for team India. Tripathi was constantly knocking on the selector?s doors with his consistent performance in the domestic circuit and in the IPL. In the recently held IPL season, he scored 413 runs in 14 matches at an average of 37.54, striking at 158.23.

"It is a very big opportunity, a dream come true [moment] and [I] appreciate [it]," Tripathi told PTI. "I am very happy that the selectors and everybody believed in me and whatever hard-work I have put in, I have got the rewards. And hopefully, if I get an opportunity to play, I will try and give my best.

Meanwhile, two other middle-order batters have been recalled for the Ireland tour. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson are also named in the squad. The former had suffered an injury owing to which he had to miss the ending part of the Tata IPL 2022 for Mumbai Indians.

The BCCI has slotted senior glovesman Dinesh Karthik as the first-choice wicketkeeper for the tour in Rishabh Pant?s absence, though, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson are two other options available for the men in blue.

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India?s tour of Ireland Schedule:

India's Squad for Ireland:

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

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