BCCI has decided to give the Ireland-bound Indian T20 squad, led by Hardik Pandya, a three-day break before it leaves for the two-match series in Malahide. While Rahul Dravid, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant will be taking an early morning flight on Monday for London, the BCCI wants its T20 specialists to take a short break.
India will tour Ireland next week to play two T20 International matches in Dublin, which would be their first visit to the Irish state since 2018. India and Ireland have met only on three occasions in the shortest format and the former turned victorious in all three games.
BCCI Source: All The Players Selected For The Ireland T20s Are Going Home For A 3-Day Break
Hardik Pandya will be captaining Team India, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named vice-captain. Suryakumar Yadav will be making a return from injury while Sanju Samson has also been recalled. VVS Laxman will lead the coaching staff for the tour.
The only new face on the side is right-hand batter Rahul Tripathi, who was rewarded for his stellar batting during this edition of IPL where he scored more than 400 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“All the players selected for the Ireland T20s are going home for a three-day break. Although there is no bio-bubble they didn’t have families with them for the series and some are playing non-stop since IPL. It’s only fair that they spend some time at home,” a senior BCCI source said on Sunday.
It is understood that all the members of the Ireland-bound squad will assemble in Mumbai on June 23 along with NCA head VVS Laxman and his team of support staff.
“Laxman and the players will be in Mumbai by 23rd and they will leave the next day for Dublin. Since they are already coming from a series, you don’t need time to get into the groove. Also it’s a two-match series, so you won’t be needing a lot of time to acclimatize,” he explained.
The T20I party, after playing the two games in Malahide on June 26 and 28, will move to the UK for T20 practice matches, which will coincide with the Test team’s ‘fifth’ game from last year in Edgbaston from July 1-5.
BCCI Source: A Few Of Top Order Players Playing Against Proteas Will Miss Out As Regular Players Will Be Back By The Time England Limited Overs Series Start
However, it is understood that not all the players in the current T20I set-up will be retained for the England tour, as many regulars will be making a comeback to the team.
“By the time the England white-ball series starts, you will see all the stars playing till the T20 World Cup. There will be no break from thereon save smaller series like Zimbabwe.
“Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja will all be back in the mix. The only person missing out, for the time being, is KL Rahul. So a few of the current top-order players (playing versus South Africa), fringe pacers, or an odd spinner might miss out,” he stated.
KL Rahul’s participation in the rescheduled 5th England Test is doubtful but there is no confirmation if he will have to skip the white ball games as well. Mayank Agarwal has been kept on standby.