India opt to bowl first against Ireland in Belfast T20I as wait for Sooryavanshi continues
Belfast, June 26
India decided to field first against Ireland in the first T20I match of the bilateral series at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Friday.
The 15-year-old batting sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, will have to wait for his international debut as Shreyas Iyer decided to continue without him in the opening match.
After winning the toss, skipper Shreyas Iyer said, "We're going to field first. It looks like a good pitch. Yeah, it's a new surface for us, and it's the first time, and the majority of us haven't played over here. So, considering the conditions, the environment, and also the wicket, we have decided to field first."
On returning to Ireland and Gautam Gambhir's message to the team, he said, "Honestly speaking, he's just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach, ruthless. And there are so many other adverbs which I could put in over here. But, you know, it comes from the experience, and the majority of us, as I've mentioned before, it's our first time over here. So we need to get accustomed to the conditions as quickly as possible. And we've got a tremendous session yesterday. So, boys are looking in great shape and good form."
On Sooryavanshi's potential debut, he said, "Unfortunately, no. He's a gun player. But obviously, we've got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliantly in the past couple of series for India. So we are backing the majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellous throughout the season. So I think he will get his opportunity when the time comes. But for now, we are going with three genuine seamers, one all-rounder, and two spinners."
Jai Moondra is making his T20I debut for Ireland.
Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker said, "Would've bowled. Looks like a really good pitch. It was a matter of transition. Stirlo led the last couple of years beautifully. Jai is making his debut today."
Ireland (Playing XI): Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w/c), Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting to see Shreyas Iyer's captaincy approach. He's right to back the experienced players who've performed well recently, but you'd think a series against Ireland would be perfect to blood the youngster. Still, India's bowling looks strong with Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna.
Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. We flew this young prodigy all the way to Belfast just to sit on the bench? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been making headlines for years - give him a chance! But I understand the management's logic too. Let's see how the match unfolds.
Gautam Gambhir's message - "be relentless and ruthless" - love that attitude! This Indian team has some exciting young talent. Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma opening, that's the future right there. 🇮🇳💪
Smart captaincy from Shreyas Iyer. Fielding first in unfamiliar conditions is always a good call - let your bowlers assess the pitch and set a target. Ireland have some handy players though, won't be a walkover.
Waiting for Sooryavanshi is becoming a running joke now 😅 But honestly, it's smart management. Don't rush a 15-year-old into international cricket just because of hype. Let him earn it through domestic performances. Good to see Jai Moondra making debut for Ireland though - Indian-origin players doing well globally!
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