All is not well in Belfast, Ireland, the venue for Team India’s next T20I series, after a knife attack on a local has led to anti-immigration violence in the region. While Cricket Ireland has already issued a statement on the entire situation, the BCCI is reportedly concerned over the unrest. As per a report in Dainik Jagran, if need be, the matches could be shifted to a different location.
BCCI taking no chances over players’ security
According to the proposed schedule – India play Ireland on June 26 & 28, before they leave for England, to play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs in July. Meanwhile, the report further states that the BCCI is also in regular touch with the Irish authorities, about the present situation.
Not just that, the BCCI source revealed that the safety of the players and support staff is a big priority, and if normalcy is not restored, then venue could be changed, subject to Cricket Ireland’s choice. On the other hand, CI has also maintained that in its statement that, they were in touch with the security officials, after the violence in Belfast.
“Cricket Ireland is continuing to monitor the situation in areas currently experiencing community unrest and will make a decision within the next 48 hours regarding this Sunday’s Irish Senior Cup and National Cup fixtures,” Cricket Ireland said.
“We remain in close consultation with the relevant authorities and our provincial unions. The safety and security of players, coaches, match officials, and supporters is paramount in our deliberations. Further updates will be provided as they become available.”
Big series for Indian players
Going back to cricket, this could be a special series for a few of the Indian players. This would be the first series where Shreyas Iyer would lead the team in T20Is, after being announced the full-time skipper. This would also be the series where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old prodigy could be making his debut.
Other than that, Prince Yadav has been picked in the squad for the first time; Harshit Rana would be making his comeback as well after a long injury layoff.
India squad for Ireland T20Is: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prasidh Krishna.
Cricket
IND vs IRE: BCCI 'monitoring' situation in Belfast, change in venue a possibility if violence persists
