Suryakumar Yadav | file photo
Hardik PandyaThe K men are all set for Ireland’s challenge as the men in blue take on a team led by Andrew Balbirnie in Dublin on 26 June.
Although it is just a two-match series, players like Gaikwad, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi will look to give their best and make a solid impression to strengthen their case for a ticket to Australia.
These are the key players to watch when India take on Ireland.
Samson has been in and out of the Indian set-up for quite some time now but hasn’t really performed to cement his place.
Although Rohit Sharma Said that a player like Samson, who has extra time, and plays well on the back foot, would be a good option in Australia, with the team already having too many batsmen and very few spots available.
If Samson could take his IPL form, and execute it a little better in the blue jersey, then he can make a strong case for himself for the tournament.
Gaikwad showed some moments of scintillating performance in the home series against South Africa but overall he was looking for time and form.
While Kishan has cemented his place as a reserve opener for the World Cup, Gaikwad would like to answer his critics, get back in form and try to stay in the mix of things.
This IPL season was the one where we really got to see Tripathi. He is one of the few players to have played the aggressive brand of T20 cricket that is in demand.
He played for the team, took no time to settle down, attacked with the first ball, put pressure on the opposition, and scored 413 runs in 14 matches at an astounding strike rate of 158.24.
The wait has been long for Tripathi and he would like to make it count.
Harshal Patel has cemented himself as a death-over specialist in this Indian set-up. We have seen him bowling well in the IPL over the years and Patel has been fantastic in the blue jersey as well.
But conditions in Dublin will be different from India and it will be exciting to see how Patel performs in those conditions. When Shami makes a comeback in the T20 team, only two of them Bhuvi and Shami can play. So Patel would again like to make a strong case for himself.
Suryakumar Yadav will return to recover from injury in this series. He has established himself as a well-known player for Mumbai Indians and continues to perform in the India jersey as well.
He is expected to come at No. 3 or No. 4 and his form will have to be monitored in the crucial World Cup. Many believe he is the X-factor a team needs to win a major tournament in Australia, and his form will often be up for discussion.