Bengaluru, June 15: The selectors put their faith in Hardik Pandya as they named him the captain of the Indian team set to travel to Dublin for their tour against Ireland.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named as his vice-captain. On Wednesday, the All-India senior selection committee picked a 17-member squad for the T20I series against Ireland.
While Rishabh Pant has been rested for the series, Suryakumar Yadav makes a comeback to the side. Apart from Yadav making a comeback, the selection committee put their faith in Rajasthan Royals' skipper Sanju Samson and also Rahul Tripathi.
Hardik's stellar IPL 2022 season, where he led newcomers Gujarat Titans to the title in their maiden season, was rewarded as he was handed the captain's hat. Hardik's captaincy was lauded, with the likes of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar pegging him as a potential candidate for the Indian captaincy role.
On the other hand Samson, who led the Royals to the IPL 2022 final made a comeback to the side and Tripathi's performance in the IPL saw him get his maiden India call-up.
Currently, in the ongoing series against South Africa, Hardik is the vice-captain, while Rishabh Pant is leading the side after KL Rahul was ruled out due to injury.
In a statement on Wednesday, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said, "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked a 17-member squad for the T20I series against Ireland. Team India will play two T20Is on June 26th and 28th in Dublin."
Meanwhile, regular T20 skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who had been rested from the ongoing series against South Africa will miss the T20 games against Ireland as well.
The Indian team will play two T20Is on June 26th and 28th in Dublin.
India's T20I squad:
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik