BCCI announces 17-member squad for Ireland T20Is, Hardik Pandya to lead the side, Rahul Tripathi gets his maiden call-up

Notably, the stand-in captain for the series against South Africa, Rishabh Pant, will join the Indian Test side for the rescheduled fifth Test, so he is not part of the Ireland series. 

And other senior players are also not part of the Ireland series. So, in the absence of seniors, all-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the side.

Notably, Hardik led his IPL franchise, Gujarat Titans, to the IPL title in their maiden season. It will also be his captaincy debut for the international side. 

He is already doing the duty of vice-captain in the ongoing series against South Africa. On the other hand, the veteran pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, will do the job of vice-captain for both T20Is.

Notably, a few faces have got the chance. Rahul Tripathi, who put up a great show in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad, has got his maiden call for the team. Suryakumar Yadav and Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson have also made comebacks to the team.

The pace machine from Kashmir, who is part of the ongoing series, has also been included. However, Umran Malik hasn't got a game yet, but he will be in the squad for Ireland. India will play two T20Is on June 26 and June 28, respectively.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, who are part of the ongoing series, will fly to England after the last and fifth T20I. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are part of the one-off Test against England. The final test will start on June 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

The Indian squad vs Ireland: Hardik Pandya (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (VC), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Venkatesh Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik