The three-match T20I series between India and Ireland concluded on Wednesday (August 23) with the final game getting washed out due to rain. The rain never relented after it started ahead of the match and the officials eventually had to take a tough decision to call off the encounter. This led to India sealing yet another T20I series against Ireland, this time by 2-0. Skipper Jasprit Bumrah was named the player of the series on his captaincy debut as he picked up four wickets in two matches at an economy of six.
With this award, Bumrah entered the elite list of Indian captains to win the Player of the Series award while leading the team in T20Is. He became the fifth Indian captain to achieve the feat. Virat Kohli (thrice), Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have won the said award before as captains. Moreover, he also climbed to the joint-third position in terms of the Indian player to win most Player of the Series awards in T20Is.
This turned out to the second such award for Bumrah in the T20Is with Yuzvendra Chahal, Rohit, Hardik and Axar Patel winning it twice too. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav have won the Player of the Series award three times each while Virat Kohli stands in an entirely different league having won the award a massive seven times. This is also a world record with only Babar Azam behind him with five such accolades in his career so far.
Indian captains to win Player of the Series award in T20Is
Suresh Raina vs Zimbabwe (2010)
Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka (2017)
Virat Kohli vs West Indies (2019)
Virat Kohli vs England (2021)
Rohit Sharma vs New Zealand (2021)
Hardik Pandya vs New Zealand (2023)
Jasprit Bumrah vs Ireland (2023)
Indian players to win most player of the series awards in T20Is
Virat Kohli - 7 times
Suryakumar Yadav, Bhunveshwar Kumar - 3 times
Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Axar Patel - 2 times
The Ireland T20I series also turned out to be a happy return for Jasprit Bumrah from injury as all eyes were on his fitness with Asia Cup and World Cup on the horizon. He was out of action from September last year but has been included in the Asia Cup squad now with the tournament set to take place from August 30.
