[In Pictures] Hardik Pandya and VVS Laxman address Team India ahead of 1st T20I against Ireland 

Team India captain for the T20I series against Ireland, Hardik Pandya, and head coach VVS Laxman addressed the players ahead of the first match, which will be played on Sunday (June 26) in Dublin.

The Men in Blue, led by Pandya, will feature in a short two-match T20I series against Ireland as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year. After the first game on Sunday, the second match will also be held in Dublin on Tuesday, June 28.

With Rahul Dravid busy coaching the Test squad in England ahead of the rescheduled Test, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head Laxman has been appointed coach for the series against Ireland.

VVS Laxman addresses the players. Pic: BCCI

On Saturday, the official Twitter handle of BCCI shared images of Pandya and Laxman interacting with the team. The pictures were uploaded with the caption:

“Captain @hardikpandya7 and Head Coach @VVSLaxman281 address the huddle on the eve of the first T20I against Ireland. #TeamIndia.”

Having arrived in Dublin a few days ago, the members of the Indian T20I squad have been sharing pictures of their outings on social media while exploring the city. On Friday (June 24) night, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal shared a picture of himself, Dinesh Karthik and Ruturaj Gaikwad on bicycles.

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“Good to see maturity in Hardik Pandya's batting” - Sunil Gavaskar

Pandya had an outstanding IPL 2022 campaign for the Gujarat Titans (GT), during which he led them to victory while also contributing significantly with both bat and ball. The performance earned him a recall to the Indian team for the T20Is against South Africa at home.

He impressed with the bat against the Proteas, scoring 117 runs at an average of 58.50 and a strike rate of 153.95. During the series, he was named captain for the two T20Is against Ireland.

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar recently praised the Baroda all-rounder for showing great maturity as a cricketer. Speaking to Star Sports, he said:

“It's good to see the maturity that has come in Hardik Pandya's batting, and his cricket overall. He has tempered his talent with that little bit of responsibility. Earlier on, when he played in a team full of superstars.. I mean, he grew up in the team of superstars, whether it was Mumbai Indians or India. And so, it was easy to go and say, "I will just play my game because these guys will take care of me. They will take up in case I fail'.”

On how leadership has changed him, Gavaskar pointed out:

“Now, as a captain, he knows his responsibility. He knows he has to take his team. And that has only improved him as a cricketer and that is only good for Indian cricket.”

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Team India squad for T20Is vs Ireland

Hardik Pandya (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi