CHENNAI: First T20I series loss since August 2023, first under head coach Gautam Gambhir, first against Ireland and first taste of international captaincy for the new skipper Shreyas Iyer. Sunday was a day of many firsts as India men lost 0-2 to Ireland in Belfast.
While the storylines continue to play on about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's potential debut and Iyer's horrific start to T20I captaincy, at the crux of it all remains the issue with Indian batters. They could not handle the seamer-friendly conditions and failed to play down the ground as much as they should have. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted as much after the series loss on Sunday.
“That (the conditions) was essentially our undoing. It was something we spoke about before, but we just didn’t address it well enough out in the middle. The big thing was the wind. Again, absolutely no excuses, but when presented with a different challenge we have to find solutions of playing in a different manner,” Ten Doeschate said, before adding, "That (not getting hit down the ground) was the central focus of our discussion, particularly for the second game. I thought Ireland did that very well with the ball. They never let us hit straight. In two matches, we hit two straight sixes. They were both off the spinner. We need to learn from that. We need to adapt quicker."
There is a need to adapt and learn quicker because in less than 48 hours India will be back on the field against England in the first T20I. Having taken a gung-ho batting approach in the shortest format over the last 48 months, the Men in Blue may have to take a different approach with the next T20 World Cup set to be played in Australia. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar felt that the batters needed to play according to the situation and adjust accordingly. "These are very highly, highly skilled cricketers as we have seen over the years. But sometimes it is a temperament where you sometimes get a bit carried away. You get a little bit pressured and do the things that you normally do or choose the right options. It is over here that maybe the Indian team was found wanting in this in this two-match series and hopefully lessons will have been learned from that so that we will have a much better performance when we take on England in a couple of days time," Gavaskar said in a select-media interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Monday.
As far as Shreyas is concerned, the legendary batter said that the fellow Mumbaikar might need some time to understand and adjust to the coaching staff. "It will probably take a little time and so we just have to be a little patient with that. Shreyas Iyer's leadership has been proven over the years in the T20 format. We have seen him win trophies, win titles and get teams into the knockouts and get teams into the final. When it comes to international cricket, it is a whole different ball game. We see that with individuals. We see that with individuals where they are brilliant at, say, the Ranji Trophy level or the first-class level, but somehow find that step up to the international level just a little bit tough to contend with. Similarly with captaincy, a lot of times we very casually throw away this remark. The best captain India never had, the best captain Australia never had, the best captain England never had with players who have led first-class teams well or franchise teams well, but have not been able to deliver the results at the international level. But that is also because that step sometimes can be a little too much. So we just have to wait and see as far as Shreyas is concerned. This was just the first two games. It is a loss which is hard to take. But let's be a little patient and see how it goes in the next five games in England," said Gavaskar.
Watch India Tour of England 2026 - England vs. India - 1st T20I on July 1, 2026, from 10:00 PM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony MAX.