India vs Ireland: Ruturaj Gaikwad missed first T20I with calf niggle, says Hardik Pandya

Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad missed the first T20I against Ireland with a minor calf injury, said the team’s stand-in captain Hardik Pandya in the post-match conference in Malahide on Sunday. Deepak Hooda came out as a surprise makeshift opener for the 25-year-old batter and scored a decisive not-out 47-run knock to beat the hosts in the 12-over rain-truncated match by s even wickets .

There were speculations around Hooda’s promotion since the reason for it was not known. However, captain Pandya clarified they didn’t want to risk Gaikwad and pushed everyone’s batting position by a spot.

“Rutu had a niggle in his calf. We had the choice of taking a risk and sending him in (to open), but I was not okay with it. A player’s well-being is more important, and (I thought) we’ll be able to manage what happens in the match,” Pandya said.

“It was quite simple after that, there wasn’t much of a decision to make; whatever our (batting-order) numbers were, we all went up one spot, and it wasn’t a big headache. We wanted to make sure we weren’t taking any chances with Rutu.”

Hooda, who warmed the bench against South Africa, grabbed the opportunity with both hands and ended up as the highest run-scorer for India. Hooda started slow scoring just two runs of the first seven balls he faced but then raced away with some high-rise shots.

Pandya (24 runs off 12 balls) and Ishan Kishan (26 off 11) also played an interesting role as both scored at a strike rate of 200 or more. India ultimately chased down the target of 109 with 16 balls to spare.

Furthermore, pacer Umran Malik, who as well had warmed the bench against South Africa, made his India debut on the day. The 22-year-old pacer. however, concede 14 runs in his first over and was not given another over by the captain. Pandya later had motivating words for the quick and said that his making debut for India at such a stage is more important than his performance.

“When you play for India for the first time, and the journey he has taken, it’s important to give such a bowler and such a talent time. Whether it was a good day or a bad day is irrelevant. For him, just to play for India is itself a very big thing, and that is something which I’m very happy for, [irrespective> of how the result went, good or bad, it’s okay.”

A dream come true moment!!Congratulations to Umran Malik who is all set to make his T20I debut for #TeamIndia

He gets 🧢 No.98 #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/8JXXsRJFbW

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 26, 2022

“It’s part and parcel of the game, but at the same point of time, from here he’ll only get better, the more matches he plays, and it’s a big thing for him to play for India, for anyone to play for India. I want to let him enjoy this moment because it doesn’t come every time. A debut happens only once.”

India plays the next T20I against Ireland at the same venue on Tuesday.

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