| Hardik Pandya captain Sanju Samson is back in the Indian team

New Delhi: All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the Indian team in the Twenty20 cricket series against Ireland. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the vice captain. Malayalee player Sanju Samson was also included in the team.

Midfielder Rahul Tripathi is the only newcomer to the IPL. Pacers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh also retained their place in the Ireland tour. India and Ireland will meet on the 26th and 28th. India is sending a second tier team to Ireland. The main team under Rohit Sharma will be touring England at the same time. Virat Kohli, Jaspreet Bumra, Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Shami will not be touring Ireland. Suryakumar Yadav will return to the Indian team with a tour of Ireland.

Suryakumar, who was injured while playing for Mumbai Indians in the last IPL, was at rest. Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik will also play in the Ireland tour. DK is also the wicket-keeper in the absence of the ball. Apart from Sanju, Ishant Kishan is another wicket-keeper-batsman in the team. Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer and Akshar Patel were the all-rounders while Yusvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi were the spinners.

Indian team: Hardik Pandya (captain), Ishant Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuvraj Kumar, Akshay Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Patel, Awesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.