3 Ireland players who can earn an IPL contract with a good showing in T20Is vs India
Ireland are set to host India for a three-match T20I series starting on Friday, with the full set of games to be played at The Village in Malahide, Dublin.
The biggest eye-catcher in the series ought to be Jasprit Bumrah as he makes his long-awaited comeback to international cricket. The same applies to his fellow fast-bowling colleague Prasidh Krishna, with the duo's match-fitness and endurance bound to come under close observation.
The series also presents Ireland a chance to better their impressive showing against the visitors last year. While they lost the two-match T20I series by a 2-0 margin, the Irishmen ran India very close and nearly chased down 226 in one of the games, falling short by a mere four runs.
On the other hand, it's also an opportunity for some of their players to catch the eyes of the think-tank of IPL franchises. It has often been observed over time that a strong showing against India carries strong weightage in the minds of the IPL teams - the likes of Sam Curran, Shimron Hetmyer, and Kyle Jamieson among others can certainly attest to the same.
On that note, here's a look at three Irish players who could earn their maiden IPL gig by virtue of a strong showing in the upcoming series against India.
#1 Mark Adair
A fast bowler who bowls at a good pace, has variations to turn to, and can operate at the death is often a fancied commodity in the T20 market. Even more so if he can tonk the ball consistently well down the order.
Mark Adair ticks off these boxes and has developed into a reliable player in the Irish ranks. The 27-year-old all-rounder is just three wickets short of 100 scalps in T20Is and has played 69 matches to date.
Given that he swings the new ball and bowls at the death as well, a wicket-taker of his ilk to operate at an economy rate of 7.66 in T20Is is exceptional.
On the batting front, although he has scored just one half-century in all T20s, it came against a very good Scottish outfit in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers last month.
Adair can certainly hit a long ball at will without needing much time to get his eye in and if he leaves his mark on the series against India, he could grab the eyeballs of a few IPL franchise owners ahead of the next season.
#2 Curtis Campher
From playing for the South African U19 team to establishing himself as a vital cog for Ireland across formats, Curtis Campher comes across as the ideal all-round package.
An impressive debut series against England in 2020 sowed the seeds for what was a promising start to his international career. Campher has the knack for stepping up under pressure as he showed during his maiden Test ton in Galle earlier this year, as well as the World Cup Qualifiers against Scotland to propel his team from a hopeless 33/4 to 286/8.
While Campher is a batting all-rounder, he is more than handy with his medium-pacers - a case in point being the four wickets he picked up in as many balls at the T20 World Cup in 2021. Just 24 years of age, his ceiling is only bound to get higher and he ought to make an excellent long-term investment as far as IPL teams are concerned.
Of course, the man himself can aid his cause with a fine series against India. If he steps up and shows his mettle against the likes of Bumrah and Prasidh, that IPL gig might not be far away.
#3 Paul Stirling
One of the IPL's bizarrely unsolved mysteries remains how Paul Stirling is yet to bag a deal. He's everything you want in a T20 player after all - a hard-hitting match-winner with the bat, a canny off-spinner who can fill in for a few overs, and a sharp fielder.
Overseas batters are often expected to take down pace at the top of the order. Stirling has developed a reputation for being a marauding hitter of fast bowling and you'd have thought that he would have lit up the IPL stage as well in the last few seasons at least.
Somehow, the wait continues even as Stirling puts his name in the hat year after year. He has tasted a lot of success in international cricket as well as most other leagues around the world.
You'd think that this three-match rubber against India presents the Irish skipper his best chance yet to finally get one of the 10 paddles to go up whenever the next IPL player auction takes place.
Which of these players would you like to see in the next IPL season? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 biggest takeaways from England's provisional squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup