India vs Ireland: Hosts include Fionn Hand, Gareth Delaney in 15-man squad for three T20Is

Ireland on Friday announced the 15-member squad for the three-match series against India to be played later this month. India will travel to Ireland after the conclusion of the ongoing West Indies tour. They are currently playing against the Windies in a five-match T20I series. Earlier India played a two-match Test series and a three-match ODI series as part of the long Caribbean tour, winning both 1-0 and 2-1 respectively. The three T20Is between India and Ireland will be played on 18, 20 and 23 August. Paul Stirling will be the captain of Ireland. India had earlier announced its squad for the three-match series, with pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is set to make his return to action after a year-long absence, named captain. The BCCI also picked several youngsters who had shone in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this summer, including Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma. Read | Focus on Bumrah’s road to WC as selectors pick squad with eye on future “While the majority of the squad reflects the playing group that successfully qualified for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last week, the selectors have recalled Leinster Lightning all-rounder Fionn Hand and have included Gareth Delany who is returning from injury after breaking his wrist in Zimbabwe in June,” Cricket Ireland said in a statement on its website. “The upcoming series is the first T20 action for the national side since securing the T20 World Cup qualification and is being treated accordingly as part of the strategic planning for that tournament scheduled for June 2024,” it added. Ireland national selector Andrew White said, “We currently have around 15 T20 Internationals scheduled between now and the World Cup, so it is important that we use each of these to continue to build on areas that the coaching team has identified. " “Giving opportunities to players also filters down the series themselves, so I would expect that all of the 15 players named in the India series squad will feature at some point,” White added. Ireland squad: Paul Stirling (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Ben White, Craig Young. With PTI inputs