India vs Ireland T20 Series: Big opportunity for Indian fringe players to make a statement

The T20 series between India and Ireland kicked off with India winning as the match result had to be decided by D/L method. The series began at The Village in Dublin with Jasprit Bumrah making his return to competitive cricket as Team India’s skipper. With some seniors players rested, the current three-match T20I series against Ireland is a good opportunity for youngsters and some non regular players to cement their place in the line up and be in contention for 2024 world cup. With the likes of Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan among others present in the squad, this series will be a testing ground for the management. On that note, let’s take a look at Indian players to watch out for in this series.

1. Sanju Samson
Asia cup squad will be announced soon and Sanju Samson needs to do something special. He got opportunity during carribean series but could not perform as per expectations. In the past, a lot of people have been saying on social media that Sanju Samson has not got enough chances to prove his talent in the international arena. However, it doesn’t hold true anymore. The wicketkeeper batsman played 2 ODIs and 5 T20Is in the recent series against West Indies but did not make any significant contribution except one half century.

2. Shivam Dube
In 2019-20, Shivam dube was part of Indian side but was inconsistent and was eventually dropped from the side. But he is back in spotlight after his performance for CSK in IPL 2023 and will look to capitalize on every opportunity he gets. Dube has so far played only 1 ODI and 13 T20Is for India. The 30 year old cricketer could not even reach double digit score in his only 50-over game against the West Indies in Chennai. As far as the shortest format is concerned, Dube has not been able to perform as per expectations. The southpaw is aware that he will have limited opportunities to prove his worth and will look to make useful contribution with both the bat and the ball.

3. Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh Krishna has been out of Indian team for more than a year due to his recurring injury concerns. He could be the fourth Indian pacer after Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the ODI World Cup and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowler could very well make that true if he proves his form and fitness in this series.

4. Tilak Verma
Tilak Verma has been in the spotlight after his stellar batting performance in the recent series against West Indies. In the absence of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Tilak  has been solid in the middle order and if he continues his good run in this series, he could cement a permanent place in Indias middle order.