India's predicted playing XI for the 1st T20I against Ireland
Team India will take on Ireland in a three-match T20I series, with the opening game scheduled to take place on Friday, August 18 in Dublin.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the Men in Blue, who are without most of the players who are expected to be part of the Asia Cup squad, which will be announced shortly. While Bumrah will want to prove his match fitness on this tour, other youngsters and uncapped players will want to make their mark in the shortest format.
Team India squad for T20I series against Ireland: Jasprit Bumrah (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the first T20I against Ireland.
Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal
There's no doubt regarding India's opening combination for the opening T20I, who are without Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. Vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal will slot in at the top of the order for the side.
Middle order: Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk)
India have some decisions to make in the middle order as they need to pick three of Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube. While there's a small chance that they pick all four and go in a batter short, it's mostly unlikely.
Rinku seems likely to make his international debut, with no other finishers in the mix. Samson, meanwhile, has been in terrible form in T20I cricket and might lose his wicket-keeper's spot to Jitesh, who has been waiting on the sidelines for his maiden cap for quite a while now.
However, the team management might decide to give Samson a chance or two before dropping him. He didn't have any opportunities to bat at his ideal position at No. 3 against the Windies.
That begs the question - Dube or Jitesh? This one could go either way, and the presence of four other left-handers in Jaiswal, Rinku, Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma could tilt the scales in favor of the latter.
Tilak, who impressed in his debut series in the Caribbean, is the only fixed member of the middle order.
All-rounder: Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is guaranteed to be part of the playing XI at No. 7. However, it could be tempting for India to pick an additional batter and beef up their lineup by slotting the all-rounder in at No. 8.
The Men in Blue might experiment with the possibility of fielding Shahbaz Ahmed at No. 8, but the left-arm spinner's T20 credentials aren't all that impressive. Moreover, without any pace-bowling all-rounders in the mix, India might want to play the following four specialist bowlers.
Bowlers: Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh
Ravi Bishnoi will welcome being given a few games in a row, with Yuzvendra Chahal playing ahead of him despite his woeful form for over a couple of years now. The talented leg-spinner could be India's biggest wicket-taking threat in Ireland.
The returning duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna could strap up to lead the pace attack. Arshdeep Singh could complement them despite not being in great form lately.
Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan could thus be consigned to the bench, with the former fresh off a Caribbean tour in which he played all but one game.