Belfast, June 25 (IANS) India's white-ball tour of Ireland gets underway in Belfast on Friday, with the two T20Is against Ireland offering a glimpse into a new chapter under captain Shreyas Iyer.

While the world champions enter the series as clear favourites, much of the attention will be on teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is pushing for an international debut after a breakthrough IPL 2026 campaign and a match-winning run for India A.

The 17-year-old's emergence presents an intriguing selection puzzle. India's established top order of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan has delivered consistently in recent months, leaving the team management with a difficult call on how to accommodate one of the country's brightest young talents.

The series also marks Iyer's return to the T20I setup after more than two years, with the skipper set to lead a batting unit featuring Kishan, vice-captain Tilak Varma, and several aggressive stroke-makers suited to India's attacking approach.

India have been forced into late squad adjustments after injuries ruled out Varun Chakaravarthy and Nitish Reddy, paving the way for Prince Yadav and Suryansh Shedge. The bowling combination will be another area of interest, with Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Prince competing for opportunities alongside spearhead Arshdeep Singh.

Ireland, meanwhile, face a daunting task after being hit by a string of injuries. New captain Lorcan Tucker will lead a depleted squad missing key players, including Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, and Curtis Campher, while newcomers Matthew Hollard and Jai Moondra have earned call-ups.

History is firmly in India's favour. The visitors have never lost a completed T20I against Ireland, having won all eight previous meetings, and will be eager to maintain that record as a new era begins at Stormont.

When: Friday, June 26, 6:00 PM IST

Where: Civil Service Cricket Ground in Stormont

Where to watch: Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD and Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD on TV. SonyLiv will live-stream the match on its website and app.

Squads:

India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (c), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Humphreys, Gavin Hoey, Matthew Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, and Reuben Wilson

--IANS

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