A fresh‑looking India side, led by returning captain Shreyas Iyer, kick off their 2026 tour of Ireland and England with the first of two T20Is in Belfast on Friday.
Iyer was appointed as Suryakumar Yadav’s successor after the 35-year-old failed to convince with the bat, despite leading the men in Blue to the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The Punjab Kings star had been knocking on the door of selection for a couple of years and now gets the chance to lead an exciting group on this white-ball tour.
Teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is going to be the biggest box office attraction of the summer as he looks set to become the youngest player to represent his country in international cricket.
Sooryavanshi topped the Indian Premier League run charts this year with 776 and scored 94 off 29 balls against Sri Lanka A last Sunday.
Ireland, meanwhile, are depleted by injuries with Lorcan Tucker taking over as captain after Paul Stirling failed to recover from a calf tear he sustained at the T20 World Cup.
Josh Little, Mark Adair and Curtis Campher are among five seam options missing for the Irish, who lost a one-off Test match to New Zealand last month.
India start as the overwhelming favourites, having never previously lost to Ireland in eight T20s and three ODIs.
Ireland v India Tips Summary
Best Bet - Abhishek Sharma most match sixes @ 7/2
Alternative Bet - Ishan Kishan top India batter @ 4/1
Bet Builder - Abhishek Sharma 2+ sixes, Arshdeep Singh 2+ wickets & Harry Tector top Ireland batter @ 16/1
Ireland v India Prediction
Best Bet: Abhishek Sharma most match sixes @ 7/2
India's batting unit is built for destruction with Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma boasting elite T20I strike rates above 145.
Sharma is the standout among them with a career T20 batting strike rate of 190.46, scoring 15% faster than any other Indian player in history.
He was outshone by Sooryavanshi at this year's IPL as the youngster broke Chris Gayle's record with 72 sixes across the competition.
But the left-hander still smashed 43 maximums in 15 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad and averages more than two sixes per innings for India in this format.
Sooryavanshi may have to wait a little longer for his debut with India more likely to introduce him for the second match of the series on Sunday, so Sharma looks good to hit the most maximums on Friday.
Alternative Bet: Ishan Kishan top India batter @ 4/1
Few players in world cricket are in better T20 form than Kishan. The wicketkeeper-batter was scored 420 runs in his last 10 innings for India, making three half-centuries and a ton in that time.
With Abhishek likely to attack from ball one, Kishan should get the perfect platform to build a match‑defining knock in the second half of the innings.
He has been India's top batter in three of his last 10 T20Is and looks attractively priced to outscore his team-mates on Friday.
Ireland v India Bet Builder
Abhishek Sharma 2+ sixes
Arshdeep Singh 2+ wickets
Harry Tector top Ireland batter
Pays 16/1
Abhishek has hit multiple sixes in seven of his last 16 T20 innings for India and could destroy a weakened Irish bowling attack.
Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh has 14 wickets in his last nine T20Is and should thrive with early swing on offer.
Back the left-armer to pick up two scalps with Harry Tector, who has 244 runs in his last 10 matches, a solid pick to finish as Ireland’s top batter.
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Key Match Stats
India lead the T20I head‑to‑head with Ireland 8-0
Ishan Kishan averages 42 with a strike rate over 200 in his last 10 innings
The average first‑innings score in Belfast is just 128
Chasing teams have won 15 of 25 matches at this venue
Harry Tector has 244 runs in his last 10 matches
Abhishek Sharma has hit multiple sixes in seven of his last 16 T20I innings for India
Tactics, Form & Team News
Injuries have ravaged the Ireland squad with Josh Little (stress fracture), Mark Adair (abdominal), Curtis Campher (hand fracture), Barry McCarthy (anterior cruciate ligament) and Jordan Neill (shoulder, and foot) joining opener Paul Stirling (calf) on the sidelines.
Stand-in skipper Tucker and Tector must anchor the innings, while George Dockrell provides finishing power. Ireland’s bowling will rely heavily on debutants and young spinners - a tough ask against India's hitters.
Expected Ireland XI: 1 R. Adair, 2 Doheny, 3 Tucker (c/wk), 4 H. Tector, 5 T. Tector, 6 Delany, 7 Dockrell, 8 Humphreys, 9 L. McCarthy, 10 Hoey, 11 Wilson.
As for India, Kishan, Samson and Abhishek form a devastating top three, while Arshdeep leads a strong bowling attack.
Expected India XI: 1 Abhishek, 2 Kishan (wk), 3 Samson, 4 Iyer (c), 5 Tilak, 6 Dube, 7 Shedge, 8 Axar, 9 Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep, 11 Rana.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
