Team India will take on Ireland in the third and final T20I match at the Village Stadium in Malahide, Dublin, on Wednesday and will be eyeing a series whitewash. Jasprit Bumrah-led side are already leading the three-match T20I series after winning the first two games last week.
The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Prasidh Krishna and Ravi Bishnoi were stars of India’s series-winning triumph on Sunday as they hammered hosts Ireland by 33 runs. With the series already in the bag, it will be interesting to see if Bumrah will hand debut to another youngster in the squad – Jitesh Sharma.
The Punjab Kings wicketkeeper earned his first call-up to the Indian side on the back of his impressive performances in the IPL 2023. Jitesh scored 309 runs in 14 matches this season at a strike-rate of over 156.
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Tickets are selling fast, but we expect to have some walk-up tickets available for tomorrow’s 3rd T20I.
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Apart from Jitesh Sharma, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and Lucknow Super Giants pacer Avesh Khan could also be tried out. If Jitesh does come into the side, it will be at the expense of Sanju Samson – who has immense popularity in Ireland.
Avesh Khan could replace Arshdeep Singh, who became the fast Indian bowler to complete 50 wickets in T20I cricket in the last match. While Shahbaz Ahmed could replace Washington Sundar in the Playing 11 if Bumrah is in a mood to experiment.
Ireland, on the other hand, could also hand a debut to Christchurch-born left-arm spinner Theo van Woerkom. He was part of New Zealand’s Under-19 World Cup squad in 2012 but has qualified for Ireland. Van Woerkom could come in for leg-spinner Ben White.
The Irish could also try out Ross Adair (paceman Mark Adair’s brother) at the top or batting allrounder Gareth Delany in the middle.
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson/Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar/Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshdeep Singh/Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Prasidh Krishna
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand/Craig Young, Josh Little, Ben White/Theo van Woerkom
