India and Ireland are squaring off in the second and final T20I of the series in Belfast on Sunday (June 28). Following the defeat in the first T20I, the Indian fans were eagerly waiting for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut as India were likely to make changes to their playing XI. While the visitors did make changes, they didn’t tinker with their top order.
The Indian team management dropped pacer Prasidh Krishna and all-rounder Washington Sundar. Prince Yadav was handed his debut cap along with Suryansh Shedge. Prince made his ODI debut against Afghanistan.
Shedge wasn’t part of the original squad and was called up as Nitish Kumar Reddy’s replacement. The all-rounder has also been ruled out of the England series. Shedge was part of the tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A and was rewarded for his batting blitz.
India won the toss and opted to bowl first in the must-win game. “We are going to bowl first considering the weather conditions. It can pour at any time, so we want to maximise the advantage of it. Two changes. Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav come in. Both are making their debut. So these are the two changes we have made,” India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss. Ireland didn’t make any changes in their playing XI.
Here are playing XIs of both teams
India: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (Captain), Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard
Why no Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?
The main reason behind Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s absence is the presence of well-settled openers. Courtesy of Sanju Samson’s and Abhishek Sharma’s heroics, India went on to lift the 2026 T20 World Cup Trophy.
They will be given a long rope before the team management decides to make a change. Ishan Kishan will continue to bat at number three and will be followed by Shreyas Iyer.