India suffered a shock 2-0 T20I series defeat against Ireland, the first time they have lost a bilateral T20I series against an Irish side. After dominating the IPL on batting-friendly surfaces, India’s young batting line-up struggled to adapt to the seamer-friendly conditions in Ireland as the hosts outplayed them in both matches. The result also marked another losing streak for Gautam Gambhir in his tenure as head coach.Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes the defeat revealed a flaw in the composition of the Indian team, not just their execution. He argued that India is relying too much on all-rounders and now urgently needs a specialist middle-order batsman, also stating why Shubman Gill should return to the T20I line-up. Taking in
Manjrekar wants Gill back in T20Is
During the post-match discussion with the broadcaster, Manjrekar further explained that Indian batsmen need to develop technique to succeed on the pitches by offering assistance to the bowlers, rather than relying solely on the flat batting tracks they are used to at home and in the IPL. He cited Shubman Gill as an ideal example of a batsman capable of thriving in such conditions and backed the Indian ODI captain to eventually return to the T20I line-up.“Shubman Gill… just so people understand, this is a guy who is now a T20 batsman and has also had a great IPL. I’m not talking about captaincy, but these are the players that you slowly want to bring back into T20 cricket because they have a bit more depth in these conditions and are used to them, as we saw when he played in England and abroad,” Manjrekar said.“That’s the way for Shubman Gill going forward. It won’t happen immediately, but I think you will slowly start seeing him in India’s T20 plans,” he added.India will have a chance to bounce back quickly when they begin the five-match T20I series against England on July 1, with the team looking to put a disappointing tour of Ireland behind them.
| answer | Date | Place of action | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. T20I | July 1, 2026 | Riverside Ground, Chester le Street | 22:00 hours |
| 2. T20I | July 4, 2026 | Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester | 19:00 hours |
| 3. T20I | July 7, 2026 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | 22:00 hours |
| 4. T20I | July 9, 2026 | Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol | 22:00 hours |
| 5. T20I | July 11, 2026 | Rose Bowl, Southampton | 19:00 hours |
| 1. GO AWAY | July 14, 2026 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 15:30 |
| 2. GO AWAY | July 16, 2026 | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | 17:30 |
| 3. GO AWAY | July 19, 2026 | Lord’s, London | 15:30 |
