India Opt to Bowl First Against Ireland; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Misses Senior Debut

India won the toss and elected to bowl first against Ireland in the opening T20I of the two-match series at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast.

Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not included in India's playing XI and will have to wait for his senior men's international debut.

Shreyas Iyer begins captaincy stint

The series marks the beginning of a new era for India, with Shreyas Iyer returning to the T20I setup after more than two years and leading the side.

After winning the toss, Iyer said India preferred to field first as it was their first game on the Belfast surface.

"Going to field first. It's a new surface for us, first time in Belfast. Considering the conditions, the environment, and the wicket, I want to field first."

On Sooryavanshi's exclusion, Iyer said:

"Unfortunately, no. He'll get his opportunity when the time comes. For now, we're going with three genuine seamers and one all-rounder."

Ireland hand debut to Jai Moondra

Ireland, led by new captain Lorcan Tucker, entered the series with several key players unavailable due to injuries, including Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Joshua Little and Curtis Campher.

Indian-born Jai Moondra made his international debut for Ireland.

After losing the toss, Tucker said Ireland would also have preferred to bowl first.

India eye winning record

India have never lost a completed T20I against Ireland, winning all eight previous meetings, and will look to extend that record in Belfast.

Playing XIs

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

Ireland: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk/c), Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard.