On Wednesday, the BCCI announced a 17-member squad for the two-match T20I series against Ireland. While Hardik Pandya has been named as the captain of the squad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be playing the role of his deputy, the side witnessed a comeback of Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson in India colors. However, there was one player in the squad who received his maiden international call-up, thanks to stunning performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – Rahul Tripathi.

In IPL 2022, Rahul Tripathi had amassed 413 runs in 14 matches for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at a stunning strike rate of 158.24 and will be hoping for an opportunity in the playing XI when the Indian team will be traveling to Ireland for T20Is on June 26 and 28.

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Following his selection to the Indian squad, a number of former cricketers took to their official Twitter profiles to congratulate the star. Irfan Pathan tweeted, “So happy to see Rahul Tripathi’s name in the Indian team. Congratulations buddy”.

So happy to see Rahul Tripathi’s name in the Indian team. Congratulations buddy.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 15, 2022

Former India wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel, meanwhile, tweeted, “So good to see Rahul Tripathi’s name in the Indian squad…well deserved.”

So good to see Rahul Tripathi’s name in the Indian squad…well deserved👏👏👏… #CricketTwitter

— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) June 15, 2022

Former Windies fast bowler, Ian Bishop also expressed his delight at the return of Sanju Samson in his tweet, writing, “So Happy for Rahul Tripathi man. Well deserved. Hope Samson makes the best use of this outing. Something special about his batting.”

So Happy for Rahul Tripathi man. Well deserved. Hope Samson makes the best use of this outing. Something special about his batting. https://t.co/R3fHtiJXrq

— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) June 15, 2022

Rahul Tripathi, who plays for Maharashtra at the domestic level, has been playing in the IPL since 2017. He had represented the Rising Pune Supergiant in his debut season when he had amassed 393 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 146.44. Despite a stunning first season, Tripathi didn’t get enough opportunities after being picked by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2018 and 2019, playing only 20 games across both seasons.

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His IPL career revamped when he was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2020 season, as he slammed 397 runs in 17 matches for the side in IPL 2021 (S/R 140.28) and played a key role in the side’s run to the final of the edition.