India has opted to bowl first after winning the toss in their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign opener against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to open the innings together.
“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,” said Rohit at the toss. India are going with four all-rounders.
The decision to promote Kohli to the opening slot means that left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal misses out on the playing XI, with Shivam Dube included in the middle-order.
Kohli's last stint as an opener in T20Is was in 2022 against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup in the UAE, where he scored an unbeaten 122, ending a nearly three-year century drought in international cricket. He had a successful IPL 2024 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore, amassing 741 runs at an impressive strike rate of 154.69, including one century and five fifties.
India's bowling attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, will look to restrict Ireland's batting lineup, captained by Paul Stirling, who will be aiming to set a competitive total.
India Squad
Playing: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
Bench: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson
Ireland Squad
Playing: Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White
Bench: Ross Adair, Craig Young, Neil Rock, Graham Hume
