A NEW ERA begins as India take on Ireland in the 1st T20I at Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast on Friday, June 26 at 7:30 PM IST (3:00 PM local). Shreyas Iyer is India’s NEW T20I captain after Suryakumar Yadav was DROPPED (lost captaincy AND squad place due to poor batting form).
 Tilak Varma is the new vice-captain. The biggest story is Vaibhav Suryavanshi the teenage sensation who scored 776 runs and won the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals. He is set for his INDIA DEBUT.
India are the defending T20 World Cup champions. This is India’s return to Belfast after nearly 20 YEARS. Nitish Kumar Reddy is RULED OUT (left quadricep injury). Ireland will test their mettle against the world’s best T20I side.
IRE vs IND Match Details
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Ireland vs India, 1st T20I |
| Series | India tour of Ireland 2026 (2-match T20I series). NEW ERA: Iyer captain, SKY dropped, Suryavanshi potential debut. |
| Date | Friday, 26 June 2026 |
| Time | 7:30 PM IST / 3:00 PM BST local; toss 30 minutes earlier |
| Venue | Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast, Northern Ireland. India’s return after nearly 20 years. Small ground, short boundaries. |
| Format | 20 overs per side |
| Captains | Shreyas Iyer (India, NEW captain), Andrew Balbirnie / Harry Tector (Ireland) |
| Form | IND: Defending T20 WC champions. New captain Iyer. SKY dropped. Suryavanshi (776 IPL runs, Orange Cap) set for debut. NKR ruled out (quad injury). Fresh squad for new cycle. IRE: Last T20I action in T20 WC (vs Oman). Tector, Delany, Dockrell lead the batting. Adair, Little, Young pace attack. Home advantage at Stormont. |
Dream11 Team For IRE vs IND, 1st T20I
Top Picks For IRE vs IND, 1st T20I
| Player | Team | Role | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaibhav Suryavanshi | IND | Captain / Batter | Captain pick. 776 IPL runs, ORANGE CAP. Potential INDIA DEBUT. Teenage sensation. At 2x. Highest-ceiling pick. |
| Shreyas Iyer | IND | VC / Batter | Vice-Captain pick. NEW India T20I captain. Middle-order anchor. Will want statement performance. At 1.5x. |
| Abhishek Sharma | IND | Batter | India’s explosive opener. Left-hand power-hitter. Hit 5 sixes in an over in IPL. Can destroy any bowling attack on a small ground. |
| Harry Tector | IRE | All-Rounder | Ireland’s best batter. Experienced. Has scored runs against India before. Batting + part-time off-spin. Key IRE player. |
| Ishan Kishan | IND | WK / Batter | 125(79) vs Afghanistan in 2nd ODI! In RED-HOT form. WK bonus. Aggressive opener/middle-order. Must-pick. |
Pitch Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Small ground with SHORT boundaries. |
| Pitch Type | Good BATTING surface. True bounce. Ball comes onto the bat nicely. Short boundaries make it a POWER-HITTERS’ paradise. Some movement for seamers early under overcast Belfast skies. |
| Scoring | 170–190 competitive. Small ground means big totals are possible. India scored 225/7 here in 2018. Expect a high-scoring affair. 180+ is very achievable. |
| Pace vs Spin | PACE effective early (Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep for IND; Adair, Little, Young for IRE). SPIN useful middle overs (Prince Yadav, Dube for IND; Dockrell, Delany for IRE). Pace will dominate on this surface. |
| Toss Factor | Both batting and chasing viable. Small ground means runs flow. Chasing may be slightly preferred for clarity. Belfast weather can be unpredictable. |
Weather Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 15–19°C (59–66°F). Cool Belfast afternoon. |
| Sky | Partly cloudy. Overcast periods possible. Typical Northern Ireland summer. |
| Rain Chance | Moderate. Belfast weather can be unpredictable. Some chance of showers but a full match is expected. |
| Humidity | Moderate to high. Could assist swing bowlers early. |
| Overall | Cool afternoon conditions. Overcast skies may help seamers. Full match expected but rain is always a possibility in Belfast. |
IRE vs IND 1st T20I Toss Prediction
Stormont is a small ground with short boundaries. Both batting first and chasing are viable. The toss winner may prefer to bowl first and chase a known target on a small Belfast ground.
If Shreyas Iyer (India) wins, he may bowl first. Deploy Arshdeep + Prasidh Krishna in the powerplay against Stirling + Tucker under overcast Belfast skies. Then Prince Yadav + Dube spin through the middle. Restrict Ireland below 160. Then Abhishek (explosive opener) + Kishan (125 vs AFG) + Suryavanshi (776 IPL runs) + Iyer + Varma chase on a small ground. India’s batting firepower will make any target look small.
If Ireland captain wins, he bowls first. Deploy Adair + Little + Young with the new ball under overcast conditions against Abhishek + Kishan/Suryavanshi. Use Dockrell + Delany spin in the middle. Restrict India below 175. Then Tucker + Tector + Delany + Stirling chase at their HOME ground. Ireland will use their knowledge of Stormont conditions.
Injury and Team News
India:
NEW ERA for Indian T20I cricket. Shreyas Iyer is the NEW captain (replaced Suryakumar Yadav). SKY was DROPPED from the squad entirely due to poor batting form. Tilak Varma is the new vice-captain (replaced Axar Patel, long-term decision). Vaibhav Suryavanshi is set for his DEBUT (776 IPL runs, Orange Cap for RR, youngest IPL fifty-scorer at 16). Nitish Kumar Reddy RULED OUT (left quadricep injury, rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence). Mohammed Siraj replaced by Prasidh Krishna (workload management). Ishan Kishan is in RED-HOT form (125 vs AFG in 2nd ODI).
Ireland:
Ireland are at HOME. Stormont is their fortress. Harry Tector is Ireland’s best batter and has scored runs against India before. Gareth Delany provides all-round value (batting + leg-spin). George Dockrell is the experienced spin AR (left-arm orthodox + batting). Lorcan Tucker is the WK-batter who can be explosive. Ireland’s pace attack of Mark Adair, Josh Little and Craig Young can trouble any batting lineup in helpful conditions. Ireland will fight for every run at home.
