Before moving across to England, India stopover in Ireland for a pair of T20Is in Malahide.
India’s caravan headed towards the T20 World Cup will stay put for a brief in Malahide as the world cricket giants face Ireland in a pair of T20Is. It will be India’s second successive trip to the Irish shores adjoined with a tour of England after 2018.
Given the busy nature of the schedule, the Indian selectors have named an alternate squad for the Ireland series, with all the Test match regulars rested.
Premier allrounder Hardik Pandya will be leading the Indian side for the very first time, with veteran quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar appointed his deputy in a touring contingent filled with limited-overs specialists and T20 World Cup hopefuls.
Not just the squad, the BCCI have appointed a separate set of coaches for the two T20Is, with NCA head VVS Laxman playing the head of alternate support staff, while full-time head coach Rahul Dravid oversees preparations for the England tour in July.
For Ireland, led by Andrew Balbirnie, it will be another opportunity to showcase their mettle against an established top full-member country and take the wealth of experience out of the short but critical India visit. For Cricket Ireland (CI), the series means a great financial boost to their existing resources.
Sony Sports Network will be providing the live television broadcast for the India-Ireland T20Is in India. Fans can tune into Sony Six and Sony Six HD channels for the series. The Ireland-based viewers can enjoy the series live on BT Sport.
Sony’s digital app ‘Sony Liv‘ will stream the series live in India from 8 PM IST, while Irish viewers can expect the matches to be streamed on BT Sport.
Ireland squad: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, Stephen Doheny, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Mark Adair, George Dockrell, Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Craig Young
India squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi
1st T20I – June 26 – Malahide Cricket Club
2nd T20I – June 28 – Malahide Cricket Club