Chetan Sharma to travel with Team India for Ireland tour

Former India fast bowler and chairman of the selection committee, Chetan Sharma, will be on board for the India tour of Ireland, to begin later in the month. The team will be led by all-rounder Hardik Pandya with former batter VVS Laxman as the head coach, for a two-match T20I series in Dublin, starting on June 26.

Sharma played for India from 1983 to 1994, appearing in 23 Test matches and 65 ODIs, and was also part of the 1987 World Cup squad, where he bagged the first hat-trick in the history of the tournament against New Zealand. He became the chairman of the selection committee of India in December 2020. Co-selector and former India spinner, Sunil Joshi, has also been with the India team in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, according to the Times of India.

Hardik Pandya to lead the team, alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the deputy

India’s squad for the two T20Is includes a new face in the form of Rahul Tripathi, while batter Suryakumar Yadav makes his return to the team. In the absence of players such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya takes charge as the captain and fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be his deputy.

India retained players such as Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik from the T20I series against South Africa in the squad who are yet to make their international debut. Other members of the team consist of pacers Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel, batters Deepak Hooda and Ruturaj Gaikwad, all-rounders Venkatesh Iyer and Axar Patel, wicketkeepers Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, and Dinesh Karthik, and spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravi Bishnoi.

The two teams last faced in June 2018 in Ireland for a two-match T20I series, in which India, led by Virat Kohli, won 2-0 over the hosts. Ireland, however, have had a good run of games, topping the table in their group in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers over the UAE, Bahrain, and Germany. India, on the other hand, look to wrap up the T20I series against South Africa as it has gone all the way to the decider after the hosts won two games on the spin to make it 2-2.