India vs Ireland: Three Players For Whom This Series Is Crucial

The India vs Ireland T20 series starting on the 28th of June is hardly going to make a stir in world cricket. It is (perhaps rightfully) viewed as warm-up for the Indian team in preparation for their games against England, something that all cricket fans in the world are looking forward to.

Notwithstanding the minimal attention given to this series, it will be a crucial one for certain Indian players, for varying reasons. This slideshow looks at three such Indian players, who, if given a chance, will be anxious to perform.

#3 - Washington Sundar

The year 2018 has made Washington Sundar experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows of his career. In March of this year, in the Nidahas Trophy, India's most recently concluded international assignment, Sundar was adjudged the player of the tournament after a series of stellar performances, and it seemed as if he had done taken a big step towards cementing his place in the Indian limited-overs sides after being on the fringes for a few months.

However, the next two months would prove to be a great grounding experience for Sundar, with him experiencing a dreadful IPL in which he was dropped from the team for a majority of the games.

Even though he is extremely young and is in the early stages of his career, Sundar will be aware that if he is to continue being on the selectors' radar for the time being, he needs to produce a good outing. That is, if he gets an opportunity to play.

#2 - Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav, who was once the spearhead of India's bowling attack in ODIs, has been pigeonholed as a test-specialist in recent years, and this coupled with the fact that India's other pacers have done extremely well in the limited overs' formats, has meant that Yadav has received extremely few opportunities in coloured clothing in recent years.

However, a stellar 20-wicket IPL season has given Yadav a second chance in the limited overs formats, and while this Ireland series may not be critical for the Indian team as a whole, it surely is critical for Yadav to further his case for a spot in the limited overs side and establish himself as the third seaming option for the side on their overseas assignments.

#1 - Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been in-and-around the Indian team ever since the series against Australia in 2016 - when he made that century in Sydney. However, two and a half years on - having already been dropped from the ODI squad for the series against England - he is as close to being out of the national side as ever.

Manish Pandey's form in the IPL, which was the primary reason for him being dropped from the ODI side, was absolutely dismal: in 13 innings, he was only able to manage 284 runs, and he struggled for any fluency in his batting.

With this tour of England and Ireland probably being the Indian team's last limited overs assignment before the World Cup of 2019, this will be one of Pandey's last chances to push for a spot in the side for the tournament - a fact that he will be acutely aware of.