2026 IRE vs IND 1st T20I Playing 11: Lorcan Tucker-led Ireland will square off against Shreyas Iyer-led India in the 1st match of the T20I series on June 26 at Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast.
Both sides are set for a new transition under the respective change in captaincy. Shreyas Iyer has been named as India’s T20I captain, while Lorcan Tucker has been named as Ireland’s T20I captain.
India and Ireland have met on eight occasions, where the Men in Blues have had a dominating advantage, winning on all occasions.
India won the toss and opted to bowl. Speaking at the toss, Shreyas Iyer said, “We’re going to field first. It looks like a good pitch. Yeah, it’s a new surface for us, and it’s the first time, and the majority of us haven’t played over here. So, considering the conditions, the environment, and also the wicket, we have decided to field first.”
“Honestly speaking, he’s just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach, ruthless. And there are so many other adverbs which I could put in over here. But, you know, it comes from the experience, and the majority of us, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s our first time over here. So we need to get accustomed to the conditions as quickly as possible.”
Here is how #TeamIndia lines up for the 1️⃣st T20I against Ireland 📝
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/gdoXw2dAKR#IREvIND pic.twitter.com/H5nvE6XpQE
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 26, 2026
While asked about Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s inclusion in India’s Cricket Team playing 11, Iyer said, “Unfortunately, no. He’s a gun player. But obviously, we’ve got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliantly in the past couple of series for India. So we are backing the majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellous throughout the season. So I think he’outside the leg-stump get his opportunity when the time comes. But for now, we are going with three genuine seamers, one all-rounder, and two spinners.”
Meanwhile, Lorcan Tucker said, “Would’ve bowled. Looks like a really good pitch. [On taking over the captaincy from Paul Stirling] I think it was a natural transition. I think Stirlo had led beautifully for the past couple of years. Very happy to have been behind him for those couple of years. I feel like I learned a lot from him. He’s so experienced, such a brilliant T20 player. So I feel like I’m in a good place now to lead the group myself.”
Speaking on today’s Ireland Cricket Team playing 11, Tucker said, ” I think it gives our lads a great opportunity. We have Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard making their debut today, so hopefully they can make a big impact.”
2026 IRE vs IND 1st T20I Playing 11
Ireland Playing 11: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w/c), Benjamin Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Liam McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Jai Moondra, Matthew Hollard
India Playing 11: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
