'Ireland defeat wasn't embarrassing, it was depressing' - Shreyas Iyer backs India to bounce back against England

India's T20I captain Shreyas Iyer admitted that Ireland outplayed his team in every department. The Men in Blue lost the two-match series 0-2 against Lorcan Tucker's men.

Shreyas said that the series defeat wasn't an embarrassment for the Indian team, but it was certainly depressing for him and his players. The right-handed batter stated that India didn't expect Ireland to play as well as they did.

India are now gearing up for a five-match T20I series against England. The first match is set to be played at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, July 1. Shreyas believes that facing the Three Lions will be a completely different challenge for his team and asserted that the familiarity some of his players have with the conditions and ground dimensions in England will hold the tourists in good stead.

"It wasn't embarrassing, but it was depressing for us, because we definitely didn't expect Ireland to play that well. They outplayed us in every department, they had brilliant ideas about the dimensions of the ground, and we fell short in terms of analysing and planning the ground and the dimensions, and how the wicket would be played. So kudos to them, credit to them, but we learnt a lot from that series,” Shreyas Iyer said in the pre-match press conference before the first T20I against England.

"This is completely a new chapter for us coming in here. A couple of us have played in England before, and we know the conditions, we know the ideas, we know the dimensions over here. So looking forward to an intense and challenging series,” he added.

Shreyas will also want to lead his team from the front. The 31-year-old managed to score only 13 runs in 14 balls across the two games in Belfast against Ireland. England have a much more experienced bowling line-up, comprising the likes of Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid, among others. The Indian batters will have to bring their A-game to the fore after a flop show in Ireland.