Vaibhav Sooryavanshi IN, 2 Players OUT? India's Likely Playing XI For 2nd T20I Against Ireland

The second and final T20I of the ongoing two-match series between India and Ireland will be played at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Sunday (June 28). India, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, suffered a shocking 34-run defeat in the series opener at the same venue on Friday, and the Men in Blue will be eager to bounce back in the second T20I to avoid the embarrassment of losing a T20I series to Ireland.

In the first T20I, the likes of Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Iyer failed to impress with the bat. They will be desperate to make amends in the must-win encounter. However, it remains to be seen whether Samson, Ishan and Tilak will all retain their places in the playing XI or if one of them will make way for 15-year-old

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The left-handed batter from Bihar is currently the talk of the town but was not considered for a place in India’s playing XI for the series opener. There is a strong possibility of him making his India debut in the second T20I. It will be interesting to see who makes way for him, as Vaibhav is a top-order batter and India’s top three is already stacked with world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma, 2026 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament Sanju Samson, and left-handed wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan.

If the team management decides against dropping Abhishek, Samson or Ishan, they can still accommodate Vaibhav by picking him in place of spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar.

Should Vaibhav replace Sundar, he could open the innings alongside Abhishek, followed by Samson at No. 3, Ishan at No. 4, Iyer at No. 5, Tilak at No. 6, Shivam Dube at No. 7 and Axar Patel at No. 8.

Sundar featured in the first T20I but bowled only one over, conceding 19 runs. He was promoted to No. 6 during India’s chase of 183 but managed only 9 runs from 12 balls.

Apart from handing a debut to Vaibhav, the Indian team management could also consider including Prince Yadav in the playing XI. Prince, who played two ODIs for India against Afghanistan earlier this month, could replace Prasidh Krishna. Prasidh was one of the three pacers in India’s playing XI in the series opener but leaked 57 runs in his four overs and failed to pick up a wicket.

Mumbai all-rounder Suryansh Shedge and spinner Ravi Bishnoi are also part of India’s T20I squad for the Ireland series, but their chances of featuring in the series decider appear slim.

India’s likely playing XI for the second T20I against Ireland: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.