Jasprit Bumrah set for comeback; named India captain for Ireland T20Is

Jasprit Bumrah is set to make his much-awaited return to international cricket as captain, with the fast bowler named to lead a 15-member India squad for their T20I tour of Ireland in August.

Bumrah, who has been out of action since the home T20I rubber against Australia last year, has been on the road to recovery from a back stress fracture. The period saw him miss every major international assignment, including the T20 World Cup as well as the IPL with the Mumbai Indians (MI).

His selection is a massive boost for India, keeping in mind the 50-over World Cup to be played at home in October. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was named as India's captain for the Asian Games, will serve as Bumrah's deputy.

This won't be the first time Bumrah will lead India. With Rohit Sharma and then vice-captain KL Rahul out of the rescheduled fifth Test in England last year, the pacer donned the captaincy hat. England won the Test by seven wickets to draw the series 2-2.

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Prasidh Krishna joins Bumrah in return from injury

Also making a comeback after a massive layoff from injury is fast bowler Prasidh Krishna. Like Bumrah, he too was undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and will look to prove his fitness in the three-match series in Ireland.

The majority of the squad wears a similar look to the one named for the Asian Games, with Rahul Tripathi and Shivam Mavi being the exceptions. All-rounder Shivam Dube, who enjoyed a stellar season with the bat for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023, has earned a recall. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh could make his international bow in the series.

Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, who are India's captain and vice-captain respectively for the three-match T20I series in the West Indies, have not been named. It is likely that it they haven't been picked with an eye on the Asia Cup, which is to be played towards the end of the month.

The likes of Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik and Axar Patel, who are part of the T20I series in the Caribbean, also haven't been selected for the Ireland series.

Ireland and India will kickstart their three-match T20I series on August 18. The second and third matches will be played on August 20 and 23 respectively. The entire series will take place at The Village in Malahide, Dublin.

India squad for T20Is in Ireland: Jasprit Bumrah (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.

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