The Indian cricket team were seemingly unhappy with the practice facilities in Belfast and brought it to the notice of Cricket Ireland officials before the IND vs IRE 1st T20I. The Men in Blue held their final training session on Thursday before the first game of the two-match series which will take place on Friday (June 26). The game at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast will be India’s first T20I assignment since winning the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this year.
India complain about issues with practice facilities in Belfast
As per news agency PTI, the Indian team management raised an issue after finding out that one of the practice pitches did not have a sightscreen behind the bowler’s arm, making it difficult for the batters to pick up the ball against the backdrop. A BCCI official told the news agency that the Indian team’s support staff had brought this to the notice of the Irish officials. The report claims that the issue was resolved soon, with the Irish officials making the necessary arrangements following which the practice session went on uninterrupted.
“Yes, there have been some issues with practice facilities, but the Indian team’s support staff have brought this to the notice of Irish officials,” a BCCI source said.
The Gambhir-Sooryavanshi chat
The centre of attention during India’s practice session on Thursday was none other than Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year old, who is most likely to become the youngest player to play for India on Friday, was seen involved in an animated chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir. As per RevSportz, the youngster batted for 45 minutes in the nets, facing pacers Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, and then playing spinners Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi.
He was involved in a brief exchange with Gambhir. The duo were then joined by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and were seen having a brief animated chat. On Thursday, Kotak told the press that while Sooryavanshi would get his opportunity, it would be unfair to drop another player who had been scoring runs just to accommodate the 15-year-old in the playing XI in the IND vs IRE 1st T20I. It remains to be seen if Vaibhav will break Sachin Tendulkar’s 36-year-old record to become the youngest player to make his debut for Team India.
