India and Ireland will play two T20Is on June 26 and 28 in Belfast.
For the first T20I between Ireland and India, which will be played in Belfast on June 26, former India player Aakash Chopra has selected his India starting XI. India and Ireland will play two T20Is in the series.
And in a shocking pick, Chopra has left out the sensational Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from his choice and has instead picked Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Abhishek Sharma as his top three in the XI. Chopra noted that India will have to choose between giving Sooryavanshi his India debut and staying true to their top three, who did well in the T20 World Cup.
"There is a big question whether the kid (Suryavanshi) would be able to become a part of the XI. There are two options. Either do justice or give a chance, because if you do justice, you won't be able to give a chance, and if you give a chance, you won't be able to do justice. You have to play three out of four players in the top three. All four will not be able to play," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"If you look at it from the justice perspective, the team will play for the first time after the World Cup. Yes, I know Suryakumar Yadav is not here; you have taken one tough call, but you won't be able to do an injustice. You should play whoever has been kept in the team. Yes, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has set the stage on fire and has shaken world cricket, but you can't give him the opportunity if you think about justice," he elaborated.
Hence, Chopra decided to stick with Samson and Abhishek as his two openers for India’s T20I team.
"If you go for a chance, you will have to drop one of the three. You can also make a rotational policy there, but I don't subscribe to that opinion. Is it so necessary so early? So Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will be part of my team. I will go with justice. I want to stay with the ones who won us the World Cup," Chopra observed.
Chopra then revealed his top six, with Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, and Shivam Dube as the all-rounders.
"I will still keep Ishan Kishan at No. 3 and Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 for sure. He is the new captain. I will keep Tilak Varma at No. 5. He is the vice-captain of this team now, and Shivam Dube is at No. 6, which means he will have to bowl a little as well," he stated.
The sole spin-bowling all-rounder, Axar Patel, was ranked seventh by Aakash Chopra, while Harshit Rana was ranked eighth for his capacity to contribute with the bat. He then picked Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Ravi Bishnoi as his bowling attack in the XI.
"I have kept Axar Patel at No. 7. I haven't kept Washington Sundar at No. 7. I am going with only one finger spinner. I am keeping Harshit Rana at No. 8 because he gives me batting as well. Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. At No. 11, I still want to play a proper spinner. So, I want to see Ravi Bishnoi playing in this team because Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav aren't there," Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra's India playing XI for IRE vs IND 2026 1st T20I:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Ravi Bishnoi