The Indian team will kick off their UK tour by locking horns against Ireland in the first T20I of the two-game series on Friday, June 26 in Belfast. The series against Ireland has gained so many eyeballs, as teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could make his international debut.
Ireland skipper reacts to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi factor
Ireland's newly appointed captain Lorcan Tucker has reflected on the buzz around Vaibhav's potential debut, saying that the entire Irish team is completely focused on executing their plans against the 15-year-old opener, as he is carrying a lot expectations on his shoulders after delivering an exceptional individual campaign for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
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"Credit to him, he’s a pretty special player. We’re hoping we’ll see him this week. It will be a big moment for him, but it would be great to spoil that party for him," said Lorcan Tucker ahead of the series opener.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's record-breaking knock vs Sri Lanka A
After witnessing a slow start in the recently concluded Tri Nation-A series in Sri Lanka, the star left-handed opener finished the campaign on a high-note. Vaibhav managed to amass 212 runs at an average of 42.20 with across five outings. The left-handed opener dropped a record-breaking knock of 94 runs off just 29 balls against Sri Lanka A in the tri-series final at a strike rate of 324.13. During his record breaking knock, Vaibhav managed to hit eight sixes and 10 fours.
India's dominating record against Ireland in T20Is
India have played nine T20Is against Ireland, with the Men in Blue maintaining complete dominance in the rivalry. The Men in Blue have emerged victorious in eight of those clashes, while the remaining game was abandoned because of rain. Ireland are still aiming for their first T20I win against India.
India's squad for series against Ireland:
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Suryansh Shedge (replaced injured Nitish Kumar Reddy)