India cricket team are all set to return to the shortest format of the game for the first time since their T20 World Cup win earlier this year as they take on Ireland in the 1st IRE vs IND T20I on June 26. A new era is set to commence, with Shreyas Iyer taking over the reins of the team from Suryakumar Yadav, with Tilak Varma serving as his deputy. While majority of India’s WC winning squad have been retained, a few players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prince Yadav among others have been rewarded with spots in the squad for their performances in IPL 2026.
Given that India will take on a less formidable Ireland before moving to England, the team has the liberty to make some experiments in their line-up. Besides, the two T20Is against Ireland will give ample time for the management to test their bench strength.
Predicted India XI for IRE vs IND 1st T20I
PositionPlayerRole1. Abhishek SharmaOpener2.Vaibhav SooryavanshiOpener3.Ishan Kishan (WK)Wicketkeeper-Batter4.Shreyas Iyer (C)Batter5.Tilak Varma (VC)Batter6.Washington SundarAll-rounder7.Axar PatelAll-rounder8.Harshit RanaAll-rounder9.Varun ChakravarthySpinner10.Mohammed SirajPacer11.Arshdeep SinghPacerOn bench: Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Ravi BishnoiVaibhav Sooryavanshi to make India debut?
After a phenomenal IPL 2026 season where he emerged as the Orange Cap winner with 776 runs, at an average of 46.50 and a mind-boggling strike rate of 237.30, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earned his maiden India call-up for the series against Ireland and England. The 15-year-old, who has been mighty impressive over the last two years, could possibly make his debut in the IRE vs IND 1st T20I in Belfast.
However, in order for Sooryavanshi to make his debut, either Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma will have to give up their spot at the top of the order. It won’t be an easy decision for the team management, but they surely wouldn’t mind experimenting, especially before the series against England.
Samson, who was named the Player of the Tournament for his heroics in the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup, managed to score 477 runs from 14 games in IPL 2026. Abhishek, on the other hand, amassed 563 runs in 15 matches. Chances are that the captain and the team management could opt for a rotational policy, and bench Samson for the 1st T20I and Sharma in the 2nd while giving Sooryavanshi a chance to feature in both the T20Is.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Anupam Nath via Alamy (modified by ChatGPT)Shreyas Iyer era as captain begins
Team India is all set to enter a new era under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer as he will take up his first assignment after replacing SKY at the helm of affairs. The Mumbai batter has been rewarded for his prolific captaincy over the last three years, having led KKR to their third title in 2024, Mumbai to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2025, PBKS to two consecutive IPL playoffs, including a final in 2025 and 2026. Besides, he has been pretty good with the bat as well, having scored 498 runs from 14 matches in IPL 2026.
No NKR a worry for India?
India have suffered a double blow before the series against Ireland and England. First, Hardik Pandya wasn’t selected as he was recovering from a back injury following which he sustained a quadrecips injury during that period, leaving him unavailable for selection. The second blow came in the form of Nitish Kumar Reddy – who is being groomed as Hardik’s natural successor – as the former was ruled out of the series due to a quadriceps injury. NKR has been replaced by Suryansh Shedge in the squad but is unlikely to make it to the playing XI for the IRE vs IND 1st T20I.
Now, it is pertinent to point out that Reddy has the ability to bowl four overs and take wickets, making him an asset for Team India in the absence of Hardik. However, now that he has been ruled out, India must solely rely on their frontline pacers including Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj to do the heavylifting.
Harshit Rana, who was out of action for many months after going under the knife earlier this year, is all set to return to action. While this comes as a boost for India in terms of bowling, it remains to be seen how he will fare and his body will cope. In the backdrop of this, India is likely to field an all-round heavy line-up, with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar expected to do the heavy-lifting in the middle-order and with the ball as well.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool via AlamyMeanwhile, Varun Charavarthy is expected to be the lone specialist spinner in the playing XI for IRE vs IND 1st T20I. This means Ravi Bishnoi will probably have to warm the bench in the contest. It would also be interesting to see if the selectors will prefer Prince Yadav, who had a phenomenal IPL season, a chance in the 1st T20I and pick him over veteran Mohammed Siraj.
Predicted India playing XI for IRE vs IND 1st T20I: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to replace Sanju Samson as Shreyas Iyer era begins Inside Sport India.
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