India Playing XI Today — Who Makes the Cut for the 2nd T20I vs Ireland?

India playing XI today is the only thing anyone in Indian cricket is talking about right now.

India playing XI today — after the most embarrassing Friday evening this Indian T20 team has experienced in recent memory. India playing XI today carries the entire weight of a wounded champion’s pride, a new captain’s reputation, and the dreams of one fifteen-year-old boy sitting in a Belfast hotel room waiting for a phone call that might finally come. India playing XI today is not just eleven names on a team sheet. It is a statement — a declaration of whether India’s management is bold enough to make the changes that Friday’s 34-run defeat made absolutely necessary. India playing XI today has split the entire cricket-watching world into factions — those demanding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut immediately, those arguing that Prasidh Krishna must be dropped without mercy, those wondering whether Shreyas Iyer will change the batting order entirely. India playing XI today in the 2nd T20I versus Ireland at Civil Service Cricket Club Belfast is the most important selection announcement India has made since Suryakumar Yadav’s axing. India playing XI today — let’s settle every debate, analyse every position, and tell you exactly who should walk out in blue at 1:30 PM local time this Sunday.

India vs Ireland 2nd T20I Match Preview — Complete Analysis

Sunday Feels Different — Here Is Why

Two days ago, India were the team everyone feared. The T20 World Champions. The side that had won 12 consecutive T20I series. The team with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and the most envied batting depth in world cricket.

Then Belfast happened.

Matt Hollard — a debutant who was playing club cricket in Ireland until recently — took 3 wickets in his first T20I. Jai Moondra — born in the same town of Tonk in Rajasthan as India international Khaleel Ahmed — dismissed Sanju Samson with his first ball in international cricket. Two men who had never played a T20I before Friday walked onto that Belfast pitch and dismantled the world champions.

That is the scale of what India are dealing with today. Not a loss to a powerful nation with decades of cricketing infrastructure. A loss to two debutants on a seaming pitch in Northern Ireland. And the response — the India playing XI today — needs to show that the lessons have been learned quickly.

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir called for optional nets on Saturday. In the middle of a back-to-back series. One day between two games. That is not the action of a relaxed management. That is the action of a coaching staff that knows something fundamental needs to change before the toss is called today.

What changes? How many changes? Who comes in? Who goes out? Let’s break it down completely.

Position by Position — Who Stays, Who Goes

Opening Batting — The Biggest Decision

The opening combination in the 1st T20I was Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Abhishek scored 49 off 20 balls and was India’s best batter by a considerable margin. He opens today — no question about that.

The second opener is where everything gets interesting.

Sanju Samson was dismissed for 5 by Jai Moondra’s very first delivery — an LBW that he reviewed unsuccessfully. Samson at opener has value because of his ability to take on new ball bowling aggressively from ball one. But there is a strong school of thought — and it has grown louder since Friday — that Samson at number three, where he has historically been most effective, gives India a better balance.

Which brings us to the name that has been on every lip for two weeks now.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. At the top of the order. Today. In the India playing XI today for the 2nd T20I.

The case is overwhelming. He scored 776 IPL runs this season at a strike rate of 237. He scored 175 off 80 balls in an Under-19 World Cup final. He made 94 off 29 balls in an India A series decider. He is fifteen years old and he bats without a single visible trace of fear. Ireland have no information on him in international conditions. No footage of him against their bowlers. No tactical plan for a batter they have never faced.

In T20 cricket, that kind of unknown quality is one of the most powerful weapons available. Deploying it in a series decider — when Ireland are confident and well-prepared for everything else India might throw at them — is not a risk. It is a masterstroke.

And if Sooryavanshi opens today, he becomes the youngest Indian cricketer in history to play senior international cricket. Younger than Sachin Tendulkar’s debut record of 16 years and 205 days — a record that has stood for thirty-seven years. It falls before he faces his first ball.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — The Bihar Boy Who Is About to Change Indian Cricket

Number Three — Sanju Samson

If Sooryavanshi opens, Samson slots to number three — a position where his game has historically been most effective. He gets time to watch the powerplay, read the conditions, and then come in with the platform already set. His T20 World Cup final innings — where he anchored India’s chase under pressure — showed exactly what he can do when given that kind of settling time.

Samson at three. Comfortable. Confident. Right call.

Number Four — Shreyas Iyer

The captain needs runs today. Not just for India’s victory — but for his own credibility in this new T20I role. Shreyas Iyer’s comeback to India’s T20I setup after nearly three years out of the side has been a talking point since his selection. His 3 runs in the first game did nothing to silence the critics.

Iyer at four gives India experience and the ability to build around a platform if the top three have done their job. He is a fluent timer of the ball who can accelerate naturally rather than manufactured — exactly what India need in the 12th-16th over phase where the game is typically won or lost.

Number Five — Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain)

Tilak Varma has been named vice-captain of India for this new T20I cycle — a clear signal from management that they see him as part of the long-term leadership core. His reverse sweep dismissal in the 1st T20I was poorly timed and poorly executed. On a seaming Belfast pitch, against debutant bowlers who bowl back-of-length, the horizontal bat shots need to be used more selectively.

Tilak plays. He is too talented to drop after one bad shot. But the manner of his dismissal will have been addressed in the optional nets session on Saturday.

Number Six — Shivam Dube

Dube scored 25 off 14 balls in the 1st T20I — India’s second highest contribution after Abhishek. His power-hitting at six gives India a genuine big-hitting option in the last five overs whether batting or chasing. He plays without question.

An interesting milestone from the first game: Shivam Dube scored his 1,000th run in T20Is during the 1st T20I. A personal milestone in an otherwise difficult evening for India — and motivation to deliver a match-winning contribution in the decider today.

Numbers Seven and Eight — Axar and Washington

Axar Patel and Washington Sundar provide India with two spin-bowling all-rounders in the lower middle order — a combination that gives the captain genuine flexibility with the ball while also ensuring the batting goes deep enough to be competitive.

Axar’s left-arm spin from the Pavilion End at the Civil Service Cricket Club is a particularly interesting weapon. The slight turn he generates can trouble right-handed Irish batters who prefer to drive through the off-side. Washington’s off-spin is tighter — less likely to take wickets but harder to score off — which makes him valuable when Ireland are trying to build momentum in the middle overs.

Both play. Neither is under serious selection pressure.

The Bowling Attack — Where India’s XI Really Changes Today

This is where India playing XI today becomes genuinely fascinating. Because the bowling lineup that played on Friday needs at least one change — and possibly two.

Harshit Rana — Plays. Non-negotiable.

Harshit Rana was desperately unlucky when he injured himself in the warm-up of the T20 World Cup, missing India’s title win and the entire IPL season. He returned to top-flight cricket against Ireland on Friday and proved immediately that he had lost nothing. Three wickets for 24 runs from four overs — in conditions that suited pace bowling and against a confident Ireland side. He bangs the hard length, he hits the seam consistently, and on a Belfast pitch with variable bounce, that approach is precisely what India need.

Rana opens the bowling today and is one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Arshdeep Singh — Plays. Needs to be Better.

Arshdeep was not at his fluent best in the 1st T20I. His left-arm swing — usually India’s most reliable new-ball weapon — did not create the consistent threat that his record suggests he is capable of. Ireland’s openers handled him relatively comfortably in the powerplay.

He plays because the alternative — going into a Belfast decider without your most experienced death bowler — is worse than the risk of another slightly below-par performance. But Arshdeep will know he needs to step up. His ability to swing the ball both ways under overcast Belfast skies gives India an opportunity — if the execution is sharper than Friday.

Ravi Bishnoi — Comes In for Prasidh Krishna

This is the change India must make. There is genuinely no argument for Prasidh Krishna playing today.

In his last two T20Is — against Australia in 2023 and against Ireland on Friday — Prasidh has conceded 125 runs. Zero wickets. That is 125 runs from eight overs across two games without a single wicket to show for it. His 17th over on Friday — 27 runs — was the over that handed Ireland the match. It took the game from “competitive” to “effectively over” in four deliveries.

Ravi Bishnoi is the replacement. His leg-spin is sharp, accurate, and has a googly that genuinely troubles batters who haven’t faced it before. Ireland’s middle order — Delany, Calitz, Dockrell — have not faced Bishnoi in match conditions. That is an advantage India should exploit immediately. Bishnoi bowling in the 14th-17th over range, when Ireland are trying to accelerate, is precisely the kind of challenge that could slow their momentum and take crucial wickets.

The selection is straightforward: Prasidh out, Bishnoi in.

India Playing XI Today — Final Confirmed Prediction

Total Changes from 1st T20I: 2

• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi IN for Ishan Kishan
• Ravi Bishnoi IN for Prasidh Krishna

Toss — What Should Iyer Do?

One tactical decision sits above everything else in today’s game — what does Shreyas Iyer do at the toss?

In the 1st T20I, India chose to bowl and Ireland posted 182. India then collapsed under the pressure of a chase. The middle order — which tends to perform better when building an innings rather than chasing a target — was exposed by the scoreboard pressure that accumulated after Abhishek’s early wicket.

The argument for batting first today is strong:

Batting first removes scoreboard pressure from the middle order entirely. It allows Sooryavanshi — if he is making his debut — to set the tone rather than respond to one. It puts Ireland in a chasing position where the weight of a potential historic series win might, for the first time, feel heavy rather than energising.

Belfast’s pitch plays better for batting as the innings develops. A total of 170-175 on this surface, in these conditions, with this bowling attack, should be enough for India to defend.

Our call: India bat first if they win the toss. Post 170+. Defend it.

How Ireland Will Respond

Ireland will name the same XI. Why change a winning combination?

Tucker, Adair, the two Tectors, Delany and the bowlers who made history on Friday — all eleven of them return today with the confidence of players who know they have already done something their country has never managed before.

The fascinating psychological element is this: Ireland have already won something. The series is 1-0. A draw — India winning today to level at 1-1 — is still an Irish achievement of enormous significance. A 2-0 series win would be the greatest result in Irish bilateral cricket history.

That knowledge — that they have already made history and anything today is a bonus — could be the most dangerous thing about this Ireland team on Sunday.

Our Final Prediction

India win by 18 runs. Series ends 1-1.

Sooryavanshi scores 42 off 22 balls on debut. Abhishek adds 58. India post 174. Bishnoi takes 2/18 in his four overs. Harshit Rana takes the key wicket of Tucker in the 8th over. Ireland finish on 156/8.

And somewhere in Tonk, Rajasthan — a family watches a fifteen-year-old finally pull on an India jersey and score runs that belong only to him.

For more information, visit MadrasBook.ing. Get your Cricket ID instantly and enjoy today’s live cricket match with a seamless experience.

FAQ — India Playing XI Today

Q1: What is India’s predicted playing XI today vs Ireland 2nd T20I?

India’s predicted XI today: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (debut), Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi.

Q2: Will Sooryavanshi be in India’s playing XI today?

All signs point to yes. With Ishan Kishan scoring only 1 in the 1st T20I and the series on the line, a clear opening spot exists for Sooryavanshi’s much-anticipated debut.

Q3: Who is dropped from India’s XI for the 2nd T20I today?

Prasidh Krishna and Ishan Kishan are the two expected changes — Prasidh replaced by Ravi Bishnoi and Ishan by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Q4: What time is India’s playing XI announced today?

India’s playing XI today will be confirmed at the toss at 1:30 PM local Belfast time — 6:00 PM IST on June 28, 2026.

Q5: Where to watch India vs Ireland 2nd T20I today live?

Sony Sports Network on TV. Sony LIV app for live streaming in India. Match starts at 6:00 PM IST.

Q6: Who is India’s T20I captain today vs Ireland?

Shreyas Iyer captains India today — his second T20I as India’s new T20I skipper following Suryakumar Yadav’s removal from the role.