India cannot ignore Ireland whitewash as one-off, it must be seen as extension of problems witnessed at T20 World Cup

T20 is a fickle format. With just 20 overs to play, the gap between teams reduces and thus any team can beat any team on its day.

India's loss in the first T20I against Ireland was a shocking result but that could be easily explained as one of the days when weaker team does everything right and the stronger team has an off day. As noted above, 20-over cricket is unpredictable at times.

However, India's loss in the second T20I on Sunday cannot be explained by the same rationale. The world champions can have a bad day but two back-to-back poor performances against Ireland is far too much to digest. It is not a one-off now that it has happened twice.

There are some recurring issues that are being exposed in this Indian team that have to be sorted out quickly if they want to remain the best in the world.

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The big issue

India were given a massive scare by the United States in their T20 World Cup 2026 opener. Namibia and Netherlands, two other unfancied opponents in their group, also troubled India at certain junctures. In all these games, the issue was the much-hyped Indian batting line-up's inability to adjust to the conditions.

Tilak Varma in action against Ireland in the second T20 match on Sunday in Belfast. Image: BCCI

The loss in Ireland is an extension of the same issue. On flat surfaces, Indian batters will take the bowlers to the cleaners but prepare a slightly two-paced track and the same hard-hitters will have no answers.

It is now turning into a worrying pattern with even lesser bowlers looking good enough to exploit this tactic against Indian batters.

Adapting is key

Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, Indian team has put a lot of emphasis on being flexible. In the run-up to the T20 World Cup, India kept chopping and changing to keep things flexible. However, the same flexibility is not showing in India's batting style.

The Men in Blue have cracked the code of T20 batting on flat surfaces but the same batters just refuse to adapt to various surfaces. The Indian team management will have to demand these batters to put their ego aside and play to help the team rather than only for strike rates.

This issue also stems from the ultra-flat tracks being prepared in India in IPL and for other bilateral T20I series. Indian team needs to play on varied surfaces so that the batters develop the skills which will help them adapt quickly to different conditions.

Need more from Iyer

Shreyas Iyer was parachuted into the Indian T20I team straightaway as a captain. There is no denying to the fact that he earned his place in the side both as a batter and as a leader. He has been among the most reliable as well as most destructive batters in the Indian Premier League for the past two years. His captaincy credentials are already among the best.

Shreyas Iyer needs to do more with the bat. X/BCCI

However, he was really poor with the bat in both the games. Both the times, he had the chance to steer the team to the victory line, a feat that he regularly achieves for Punjab Kings in IPL. But he failed.

India must demand more from Iyer the batter. These are the chases that he should be bossing. Getting out easily both the times do not paint a rosy picture of him. Of course, we all expect him to bounce back, but he cannot flop on occasions like these two games because this is what he has been brought back into the team for.

All in all, lightning does not strike twice but India have now been struck twice by the lightning called Ireland. The world champions who are said to have resources deep enough to field four international teams are losing to an Irish side which is missing key players. This cannot happen. Emphasis must be given on things that are going wrong rather than just overlooking these results as one-offs.