India player ratings for Ireland T20I tour [Source: AFP]India returned to T20I cricket for the first time since the historic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title defence earlier this year, as they toured Ireland for a two-match T20I series in Belfast.The series was considered a preparatory event for the upcoming white-ball tour of England, with Shreyas Iyer replacing Suryakumar Yadav as the captain on his T20I return after almost three years. Everything initially indicated India’s dominance in the tour, but things went drastically south as the visitors were stunned by Ireland with a clean sweep. Interestingly, prior to this series, Ireland had never beaten India in international cricket across their 11 meetings in white-ball cricket, making it a significant moment for them.As the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup holders head to England after an upset in Belfast, we take a look at the player ratings for Shreyas Iyer and co. for the series.India player ratings for Ireland tour 2026Top Order:Sanju Samson- 3/10Sanju Samson came into the series at the back of three match-winning fifties in the T20 World Cup, where he was also named as player of the tournament. Hence, the expectations were high for him.However, with only 5 runs in the first match, followed by a golden duck in the series decider, he has mounted pressure on himself, as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to wait for his debut. Despite only 5 runs, he gets 3/10 for being decent with the gloves behind the wickets.Abhishek Sharma- 7/10Contrary to Sanju Samson, the southpaw Abhishek Sharma returned to the India camp with high spirits and scored a swashbuckling 49 off 20 in the first match, with 7 fours and two sixes. The wickets kept falling on the other end, and India fell short of the 183-run target.In the second T20I, India needed only 155 runs, but Abhishek fell for a golden duck, which diminished India’s chances of chasing the score.Also Read: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson Register The Most Embarrassing Feat By India OpenersIshan Kishan- 2/10Left-hand bat, Ishan Kishan has been one of the biggest stars in Indian cricket since the turn of the calendar year, as he returned to the team in style. But, despite his IPL and T20 World Cup heroics, he only scored 13 runs in 2 innings at a strike rate of 81.25.He was hard done by the miscommunication in the run out in the second match but still, he failed to impact the series with the bat.Middle-Order and All-Rounders:Shreyas Iyer- 1/10Shreyas Iyer returned to the T20I team after a long hiatus, having done his grind in the IPL and domestic cricket, but his return was lacklustre, with only 13 runs in 2 innings, striking at 92.85, failing in both run chases when the chips were down.Additionally, as the captain, he became the first one to lose a match and subsequently the series against the Irish. He failed to add pressure on the hosts after having them 51/4 in the first match, as they went on to score 182/9 by the end as well.Tilak Varma- 6/10The new T20I vice-captain, Tilak Varma, is now a senior player of this team, with a defined role to bat in the second half of the innings. Nonetheless, his strike rate was still a concern in this series, with 74 runs in 2 innings at 110.44.To his credit, he was the top-scorer of the series, including a 55(46) in the second T20I, but he did not manage to take the team through despite getting used to the pitch.Shivam Dube- 8/10Contrary to the past, Shivam Dube is now a bona fide finisher of the team and not only a spin-basher in the middle overs. He has a defined role, where he has been thriving for a while now. Similarly, he scored 45 runs in two innings, striking at 150.But much like Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube was unable to take the team past the winning line despite being the only batter to get starts in both matches. Nonetheless, he bowled well for 1/18 (3) and 2/35 (3) in the respective matches to be among the top performers for India.Axar Patel- 7/10The senior all-rounder, Axar Patel, once again turned up for the team with the ball in both matches. He picked up 2 wickets in the series at a good economy rate of 7.33 runs per over.But as someone who has been used as a floater in the batting order for a while, he looked underwhelming, managing just 29 runs at a strike rate of 85.29 across both innings.Washington Sundar- 1/10As mentioned by Sanjay Manjrekar in a broadcast, “Washington Sundar is playing too many formats without a body of work”, and it was clearly evident in his only appearance of the series.With the ball, he only bowled a solitary over, which went for 19 runs, which was followed by a poor 9 off 12 at number 6, when he batted over Dube and Axar in the opening match.Suryansh Shedge- 1/10It is tough to rate the debutant based on his only outing of the series, where he did not have much involvement in the match. As the all-rounder replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy, he bowled an average spell of 0/25 (2.His best chance to make an impact came with the bat when India found themselves in a precarious situation. 46 were needed in 23 balls, but he only got 1 off 5 and will probably need to wait for a bit before another opportunity arrives.BowlersHarshit Rana- 9/10Harshit Rana returned to the team after a long injury layoff and had an immediate impact on the series. He was inarguably India’s best player in the two matches, with 4 wickets in 7 overs, at an economy rate of 5.85 runs per over.Additionally, despite batting at 9, he almost pulled off a miraculous win in the second T20I, with 21 off 10, scoring two fours and a six.Arshdeep Singh- 8/10Arshdeep Singh came into the series with a few underwhelming T20 performances in IPL 2026. However, he fared well in this series, as the joint-highest wicket taker for India, with four scalps in the series. He had the best figures of 2/28 and an economy rate of 7.87 runs per over in the 8 overs bowled.Prince Yadav- 9/10Following a highly impressive IPL season with the Lucknow Super Giants, Prince Yadav received his maiden T20I cap in the second T20I of the series. He lived up to his reputation, bowling a quality spell of 3/22 (4), with his hit-the-deck bowling.He also struck a six off his only ball faced with the bat to reduce the margin of loss in the match to 1 run on the last ball of the match.Prasidh Krishna- 1/10In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Prasidh Krishna had an opportunity to stamp his authority in white-ball formats, but he was India’s worst bowler in the first and only T20I that he played in the series.In the four overs bowled, he conceded 57 runs without picking any wickets and helped Ireland to go past the 180-run mark in the match. This performance also saw him lose his place in the XI to Prince Yadav.Also Read: “Shreyas Iyer Has No Say In Selection, Gautam Gambhir Taking Calls”- Sensational Revelation After IND vs IRE
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