The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named a 17-members Indian team for the upcoming bilateral Twenty20 International series against Ireland.
For the very first time, Hardik Pandya will captain Team India. It is indeed worth noting that Hardik had an outstanding leadership performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, with his debut team Gujarat Titans (GT) winning the tournament for the first time. Pandya was a force to be reckoned with including both bat and ball, and he led his team at the front. In the present T20I series against South Africa, he is also in excellent form.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been selected the series’ vice-captain.
Sanju Samson, whose squandering has been well recorded over the years, has been given another chance at salvation after leading Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final.
The lone newcomer in the lineup is Maharashtra right-hander Rahul Tripathi, who was recognised for his outstanding batting performance for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this season’s IPL, in which he hit over 400 runs.
Meanwhile, fans are celebrating Hardik on his first captaincy of the Indian squad on social media.
Hardik Pandya is the Captain of Team India💙 for Ireland tour.
So so proud🥺❤️.#HardikPandya #TeamIndia #Captain pic.twitter.com/Q6y9DwRwOp
— Kovai Jagadesh (@kovai_jagadesh) June 15, 2022
Three months ago, Hardik Pandya hadn't captained *any* team at senior level. Now, he's an IPL winning captain who will soon be an India captain.
ps: Stoked by Rahul Tripathi's inclusion in India's side too. Deserves it after how he did in IPL 2022. https://t.co/ltfKqFCpcm
— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) June 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/sirmanav14/status/1537092159522115586?s=21&t=j5jzBl0Ks6HI7NTLwH7_UA
We are about to enter Captain Hardik pandya captaincy era 🏆. https://t.co/CBeDcaJJfT
— Chiku (@Kohliisgoat) June 15, 2022
