Team India’s much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 campaign got underway against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5.

In the very first match, India’s team combination became the talk of the town. The Men in Blue decided to leave out left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from the playing XI, which left the fans disappointed.

The inaugural T20 World Cup champions opted to go with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as opening pair while Rishabh Pant featured in the side as a designated wicketkeeper-batter.

The Indian team management also surprised many by fielding four all-rounders in the XI, including two pace-bowling all-rounders in Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya and a couple of spin-bowling all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel.

The decision to not pick any specialist spinner in the playing XI and leaving the left-handed opening batter in Jaiswal were questioned by the fans on social media.

Here’s how the fans reacted:

India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first in their tournament opener against Ireland.

Speaking at the toss, India skipper Rohit said: “We're going to bowl. Preparations have been alright. Have been managing ourselves in these new conditions. Has been challenging but we are all professionals. We played on a similar pitch and do know what to expect a little bit. I know it's going to be slightly different from what we're used to. But that's what the sport is. Not sure about the conditions too much, so thought having a target in front of us would be good. Guys missing out are Kuldeep, Sanju, Jaiswal and one more.”

India’s playing XI for Ireland clash:

Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj