Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in T20I tour of Ireland; Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma rewarded for IPL heroics

The BCCI on Monday announced a young India side that will tour Ireland for three T20Is later in August, with returning pacer Jasprit Bumrah to lead the Men in Blue. With the senior team in West Indies, Hardik Pandya was pipped to lead the side in Ireland, and the decision to name Bumrah as skipper may have surprised a few. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named vice-captain. Bumrah has been out of competitive cricket for almost a year now owing to his recurring back injury. He had undergone a surgery to treat his back in March this year, and was recently undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Also read: Kapil Dev says India would have 'wasted time' on pacer if he does not play World Cup The team management are looking to include fresh faces in the T20I side, with the 2024 T20 World Cup in sight. Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma, who had excellent Indian Premier League campaigns for Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings respectively, have also been named in the squad, with Jitesh and Sanju Samson the two designated wicketkeepers. Bumrah, meanwhile, last played for India in a T20I against Australia in September last year. According to news agency PTI, 29-year-old was eager to don the dual role during the Ireland trip. Bumrah has the experience of leading the side as he had led India against England in the Birmingham Test last year. In a further boost to India’s pace inventory, Karnataka right-arm quick Prasidh Krishna too was included in the squad to tour Ireland. Prasidh, who had undergone surgery for lumbar stress fracture earlier this year, last played for India in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare in August last year. The Ireland series is viewed as an opportunity for both Bumrah and Prasidh to tune their body to the rigours of international cricket after a lengthy gap. Hence, the duo could be expected to be part of India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup to be played in Colombo across August and September. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the vice-captain of the squad from which many regular members like Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill are absent. However, after the short time away from the game both Pandya and Gill are expected to return to action through the Asia Cup. Currently, both of them are playing in the ODI series against the West Indies. This tour to Ireland will also be a good chance for several players in this squad as they are also a part of the Indian team for the Asian Games. It will also open up another opportunity for Sanju Samson to underline his claim for a more frequent India berth in the white ball formats. Since many of these cricketers, except Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, are now being viewed as T20I specialists, the tour to Ireland holds significance for them in their future plans. The only jarring point in the squad to Ireland is the continued absence of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. They are still under rehabilitation after their respective surgeries, and a time-frame has not been set for their return to top-flight cricket. The BCCI had recently said that both Rahul and Shreyas have started batting at nets at the NCA and they were undergoing strength and fitness drills. Meanwhile, the World Cup hopefuls will have a week-long training camp at the NCA ahead of their departure to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup. Their fitness levels too will be assessed during this camp. India squad for Ireland T20Is: Jasprit Bumrah (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan. With inputs from PTI