Injury blow for India ! Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of Ireland T20I series

India's preparations for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland have suffered a setback, with leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy ruled out due to a lingering foot injury.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Chakravarthy is currently in the final stages of rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) after sustaining a left foot injury during the closing stages of IPL 2026.

The mystery spinner will continue his recovery programme and will not travel with the squad for the two-match series. His overall international stats stand at 73 wickets across 45 T20Is and 10 wickets across 4 ODIs. Varun Chakravarthy's last international match was the T20 World Cup Final match against New Zealand on March 8, 2026, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.The Ireland tour, scheduled from June 26 to June 28, will be played entirely at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast.

Both matches are set to begin at 5:30 PM IST under lights.

Shreyas Iyer's era to begin

The series will mark the beginning of a new era in India's T20 setup, with Shreyas Iyer taking over the captaincy following a tactical shift by the selectors. Tilak Varma has been named vice-captain as the management looks to build towards future ICC events. One of the biggest talking points from the squad announcement is the inclusion of 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

India have also made a change in the pace department, with Mohammed Siraj rested as part of workload management. Prasidh Krishna has been drafted in as his replacement.

Head-to-head

Historically, India have dominated this rivalry, winning all eight T20Is played against Ireland. The Men in Blue's most recent meeting with Ireland came during the 2024 T20 World Cup, where India registered a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

India updated squad for Ireland T20I series

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prasidh Krishna.