Ireland will be locking horns with India in a short 3-match T20I series ahead of India’s big-ticket Asia Cup 2023. All the matches will be played at The Village in Dublin. The first T20I is slated to be played on 18th August 2023 and is slated to take place from 7:30 PM (IST).
The last time India had played versus Ireland in 2022, India had a 2-0 series victory under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. In this series, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna will be staging a comeback after a long hiatus.
Bumrah had last played for India in September 2022 in a T20I against Australia. He will be donning the captain’s hat in this game. Prasidh Krishna too was out of the side because of a lumbar stress fracture and will be back into the side.
In this article, we take a look at 5 players to watch out for in the upcoming IRE vs IND T20I series in Ireland:
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad (India)
Named as the vice-captain of India in this series, Ruturaj Gaikwad will be a force to reckon with in this series. As the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan are rested for this series, Gaikwad is expected to open the batting for India alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Ruturaj Gaikwad had a good Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season and emerged out as the second-highest run-scorer for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their title triumph.
2. Joshua Little (Ireland)
Pace bowling sensation of Ireland, Joshua Little will be leading the pack for Ireland in this series. He will be a player to watch out for as the left-arm seamer has the ability to nip the ball back while bowling to right-handed batters.
Little has played 58 T20Is so far and has bagged 68 wickets. He also represents Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL and has been a dominant force in their bowling department.
3. Paul Stirling (Ireland)
With the experience of having played for several T20 franchise leagues across the globe, Paul Stirling is an indispensable part of the Ireland T20 set-up. Stirling has the ability to smear the bowlers from the word go and is also the captain of the Irish side.
He has truckloads of experience under his belt and has amassed 3397 runs in 129 games so far in this format.
4. Washington Sundar (India)
After a hamstring injury made him miss several games and tours, Washington Sundar is expected to play a crucial role for India in this series. With the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 slated to take place in the spin-friendly conditions in India, Sundar’s off-spin bowling is expected to be a crucial factor for India.
Sundar is expected to be drafted into the playing XI of the Jasprit Bumrah led side in this game.
5. Arshdeep Singh (India)
Unarguably India’s finest left-arm seamer presently, Arshdeep Singh can wreak havoc to the opposition batters with his pin-point accurate bowling. Singh has the ability to swing the ball in both ways and will be a key figure in the Indian cricket team for this T20I series.
He had bagged 7 wickets in the recently-concluded 5-match T20I series versus West Indies and had finished as India’s highest wicket-taker.
Also read: IRE vs IND: 3 Players Who Can Win Player Of The Series Award
