Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth called for the inclusion of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T20I lineup after the side’s shocking defeat in the opening T20I against Ireland in Belfast on June 26. Despite coming in as overwhelming favorites, the Men in Blue suffered a humbling 34-run loss on the back of a poor all-round showing.
After reducing Ireland to 51/4 in the eighth over, the Indian bowlers took their foot off the pedal, allowing Ireland to amass a competitive 182/9 in 20 overs. Speedster Prasidh Krishna endured a forgettable outing, conceding 57 runs off his four overs.
It prompted Srikkanth to call for Bhuvneshwar’s inclusion in place of Prasidh in the Indian T20I setup.
“Prasidh Krishna kept bowling in the good length. He bowls perfectly in the slot. The five overs between him and Sundar cost India the game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be an automatic choice in this bowling lineup. Prasidh Krishna bowls at just the perfect pace and length to get smashed. He wasn’t great even in this IPL,” he said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka (7:04).
Bhuvneshwar enjoyed an incredible IPL 2026 season, finishing as the second leading wicket-taker with 28 scalps at an average of under 18 and helping the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinch their second title.
“Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar were terrible” – Kris Srikkanth on India’s bowling
Kris Srikkanth believes the five overs between Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar cost the first T20I against Ireland. While the other bowlers, including part-timer Shivam Dube, enjoyed excellent outings, Prasidh and Sundar combined to concede 76 runs off their five overs.
“India’s overall bowling was ordinary. Everyone else bowled well but Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar were terrible. Sundar doesn’t bowl in the IPL itself. Dube surprisingly looked deadly as a bowler. He looks a more confident international player than in the IPL,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Ireland took the confidence from the second half of their batting innings into their bowling display, bundling India out for 148 in 18.5 overs. As a result, they completed their first-ever win over the two-time defending T20 World Champions in any format and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran