IND vs IRE: Predicted India playing XI for the first T20I

After a memorable ODI series victory over Afghanistan, the action has now reached to the shortest format of cricket. The action starts from June 26, when India will take on Ireland at the Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast, in the first T20I. Both teams have been scheduled to play 2 T20I matches. This is India’s first assignment after winning the T20 World Cup 2026. Shreyas Iyer has become the new captain of the shortest format. 

With this series, India will start to prepare their T20I side for the Asian Games 2026, which is scheduled to be held in September in Japan. On the other side, hosts Ireland want to clinch their first-ever victory over visitors. 

A couple of days ago, BCCI announced the new T20I team, in which a couple of fresh faces have been included, including 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prince Yadav. Former T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has also dropped from the team after regular failures. Jasprit Bumrah has now been included in the ODI setup, as looking at the ODI WC next year, and it is almost confirmed that Hardik Pandya will also not be included in the T20I setup soon. 

It will be fascinating to watch which players will get a chance to play in the playing XI in the first match. Generally, Sanju Samson will open with Abhishek Sharma. But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is also in solid form, and he has a great chance to feature in the match. In the middle order, Tilak Varma and skipper Shreyas Iyer will feature. 

The management might give young players a chance in this series; consequently, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could get an opportunity to make his debut. In this scenario, the team will likely be able to include only one of either Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan in the playing XI. It will be interesting to see which player is rested and who makes it into the playing XI.

After this, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Harshit Rana will feature in the role of all-rounders. The team might be entered with the sole spin bowling option, Ravi Bishnoi. Axar Patel will contribute to him as a second spin option. Prince Yadav could be the only pacer who will get support from Harshit Rana, Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy from the other end. 

Predicted India playing XI

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson/Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer ©, Tilak Varma (vc), Shivam Dube, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav