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One name that perhaps drew the most attention when the BCCI announced the squad for the 2-match T20I series against Ireland was Rahul Tripathi. Despite being one of the more consistent batters in the Indian Premier League as well as other domestic competitions, Tripathi never really got a maiden India call-up until this tour.
And now the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter has received the backing of former India head coach Ravi Shastri to bat at number 3 for India on their short Ireland tour. Shastri rated Tripathi as someone who is not overawed by any opposition or bowler.
"When he is there at the crease, the scoreboard is ticking. He doesn’t go behind the edged ball", Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.
"Shot-making ability, the all-round game that he has, he’s not overawed by any opposition or by any bowler. He’s scoring at a great rate. You know which is tremendous at no.3 because he sets it up beautifully", he added.
The other big talking points around the series were Hardik Pandya being named the captain while Bhuvneshwar Kumar being appointed his deputy. With the senior team in England gearing up for the all-format series against the Three Lions, even the coaching staff will be different for the Ireland series with VVS Laxman heading the coaching group.
Other than Laxman, National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches Sairaj Bahutule, Munish Bali and Sitanshu Kotak are all part of the support staff.
India’s T20I squad for Ireland tour: Hardik Pandya (captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik