India Playing 11 for 1st T20I vs Ireland (Predicted): Will Umran Malik make his debut at Dublin?

Malahide, June 24: India will take on Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series here at the Reading on Sunday (June 25) and we will also see a first-time international captain in Hardik Pandya.

Hardik was impressive as the Gujarat Titans captain in the IPL 2022 as he led them to the title and his wares will be tested in an international atmosphere now.

What could be India’s playing 11 then for the first T20I against Ireland? We try to decode that in this India vs Ireland best playing 11 section.

1 India, Ireland squads

India squad: Hardik Pandya (captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi.

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Harry Tector, Gareth Delany, Paul Stirling, Curtis Campher, Stephen Doheny, Lorcan Tucker, Mark Adair, George Dockrell, Joshua Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Craig Young.

2 India vs Ireland head to head

India vs Ireland head to head India and Ireland have played 3 T20I matches and teh former have won all three of them. So, India have a 3-0 win record against Ireland in T20Is.

3 India best playing 11 for 1st T20

Openers: 1. Ishan Kishan, 2. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Middle-order/all-rounders: 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Sanju Samson, 5. Rahul Tripathi, 6. Hardik Pandya.

Wicketkeeper: 7. Dinesh Karthik.

Bowlers: 8. Harshal Patel, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Avesh Khan / Umran Malik.

4 Contest between Avesh / Harshal / Umran

This is the million dollar question that is harrowing the Indian cricket fans since the IPL 2022. When will Umran Malik will make his India debut? The J&K pacer has kicked up a storm by bowling in excess of 150 kmph consistently in the IPL and has a top speed of 157 kmph.

Umran was in the squad for the home T20I series against South Africa but the management stuck the experienced trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel. They were alight in the series as well. Bhuvneshwar took 6 wickets at an economy of 6.07, Harshal took 7 wickets at an economy of 7.23 while Avesh chipped in with 4 wickets at an economy of 7 in the series.

But Ireland is a less intense and less experienced an opponent than SA but a tricky one nonetheless. India would like to win this series as the one against the Proteas was tied 2-2 after the last match resulted in a washout.

So, the management team led by head coach Rahul Dravid would not want anything less than a series win at Dublin. So, the team composition too could be aligned to that intent. They would not be keen to showcase anything spectacular at this point over a series triumph.

It means that Umran might just have to wait for his India debut, and can hope for the big moment in the second T20I if India register a win on Sunday (June 25).