Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel part of India's T20I squad en route to Ireland; Hardik Pandya to lead

A new era of Indian cricket is right around the corner as a new captain will be leading the Indian contingency on the distant shores of Ireland during their two-match T20I affair with the Irishmen. The squad won’t be starring the frequent Indian regulars as most of them would be cuffed up in India’s unfinished series against the English. This will be the best possible opportunity for Hardik Pandya to showcase his leadership skills in the international arena, having impressed as the captain of the Gujarat Titans, the champions of IPL 2022.

Both Dinesh Karthik and Harshal Patel who are mainstays in the Royal Challengers Bangalore line-up will also be a part of the team touring Ireland. Karthik could well be seen wearing the keeping gloves, given the fact that Rishabh Pant will be a part of the English tour in July.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been shouldered with the onus of being Hardik’s deputy in Ireland. The squad will also be welcoming Rahul Tripathi to the international fold after a solid IPL 2022 where he scored 413 runs for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at a stunning average of 37.54 and a brilliant strike rate of 158.23.

Tripathi would tell PTI about his pent-up emotions after finally bagging his maiden call-up for the national team. “It is a very big opportunity, a dream come true [moment], and [I] appreciate [it]. I am very happy that the selectors and everybody believed in me and whatever hard work I have put in, I have got the rewards. And hopefully, if I get an opportunity to play, I will try and give my best," he said.

Suryakumar Yadav will be coming back to the side after recuperating from the elbow injury that ruled him out of the latter stages of IPL. The team also issued another call-up for Rajasthan Royals skipper, Sanju Samson. Barring the likes of Pant and Shreyas Iyer who will be a part of the England squad, almost the entire team plying their trade against the Proteas, would be a part of the upcoming contest against Ireland.

VVS Laxman will be overseeing India’s preparations against Ireland as Rahul Dravid will be taking care of the team going up against the mighty English. Laxman will have Sitanshu Kotak, Sairaj Bahutule, and Munish Bali as his coaching aides in Ireland.

Indian squad:

Hardik Pandya (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (VC), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik