India are less than 24 hours away from playing their first match T20I against Ireland Sunday (26 June). With many new faces in the Men in Blue squad, skipper Hardik Pandya said that there will be some players who will make their debut against Ireland. One of the most talked topics after IPL 2022 has been India’s fast bowler Umran Malik. The SRH pacer could make his India debut after a stellar performance in the IPL and a practice session with the national team during the recent South Africa series.
Umran recently received his first call-up for the Men in Blue in their home series against South Africa. However, the right-arm pacer could not make his debut as skipper Rishabh Pant decided to play the same playing XI in all the five matches against the Proteas.
Now the second-line Indian team is ready for two T20 matches against Ireland in which Hardik Pandya will be the captain. Umran Malik is likely to make his international debut for India as the captain himself has said that some caps will be given and he wants to play his best XI.
“We want to give opportunities but at the same time we want to play with our best XI. So some caps will be given but at the same time it’s about making sure we have the best XI when we go out on the field,” Pandya said on the eve of the first T20I against Ireland.
Captain Hardik Pandya has taken charge in Ireland. pic.twitter.com/ovDZaITtof– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 24 June 2022
A glimpse of what the future of Indian cricket awaits will reveal many young faces and budding players playing for their country in the series against Ireland. Another name that set social media on fire after announcing his first call-up for India was Rahul Tripathi. The Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman was rewarded for his performance in IPL 2022, in which he scored 413 runs while playing for SRH. It will be interesting to see which playing XI Pandya plays after suggesting the best XI to play with.