The two T20Is between India and Ireland will now start an hour earlier at 6 PM IST instead of the originally scheduled 7 PM IST (2:30 PM local time). Cricket Ireland confirmed on Thursday that the decision was taken to minimise the overlap with Sunday’s crucial Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash between India and Australia.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s India women are in a must-win situation heading into their final two Group A matches against Bangladesh and Australia, with another defeat potentially ending India’s campaign.
Sources within Cricket Ireland confirmed that the revised timings were specifically intended to ensure the men’s and women’s matches clash as little as possible. The Women’s T20 World Cup Group A fixture between India and Australia is scheduled to begin at 7 PM IST at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
“The timings were brought one hour earlier because nobody wants the two games to clash directly,” the source told Hindustan Times Digital. It has also been learned that Cricket Ireland has informed broadcasters that the India-Ireland games now begin at 6 PM IST.
The two T20Is between India and Ireland will be played on June 26 and 28 in Belfast. The series is also expected to mark the senior international debut of 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Earlier, the timings for India’s upcoming five-match T20I series against England, beginning on July 1 in Durham, were also revised. Two of the five matches, the second T20I in Manchester on July 4 and the fifth in Southampton on July 11, will start at 7 PM IST. The remaining three matches in Chester le Street, Nottingham and Bristol will begin at 10 PM IST.
Sooryavanshi takes centre stage
Ahead of the upcoming seven T20Is, much of the attention has been on Sooryavanshi. The Hindustan Times Digital had earlier reported that the youngster would need a separate changing room in both Ireland and England due to the country’s safeguarding protocols for under-16 players. The ICC has no role in the arrangement, which is entirely in line with UK regulations.
Sooryavanshi arrived in Belfast to much fanfare. Just days earlier, he had smashed the fastest List-A fifty, reaching the milestone in just 11 balls during the Tri-Nation A Series final between India A and Sri Lanka A. He earned a place in India’s T20I squad after a sensational IPL 2026 campaign with the Rajasthan Royals, scoring 776 runs, including a century, at a strike rate of 237.31.
Here are the two squads:
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (c), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Humphreys, Gavin Hoey, Matthew Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Reuben Wilson.
