Cricket Ireland has named a 15-member men's squad to represent Ireland in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with opener Paul Stirling leading the side in the mega event to be played in the Caribbean and the USA in June.
The European side are placed in Group A of the tournament, alongside India, Pakistan, USA and Canada. The squad includes experienced names such as Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, and George Dockrell.
Besides the squad for the T20 World Cup, Cricket Ireland announced two more T20 International squads for the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan in Dublin, and the Tri-Series with Netherlands and Scotland in Voorburg, the Netherlands next month.
The three squads feature the same 14 players, however, Josh Little (currently playing in the IPL) will be added as the 15th squad member at the T20 World Cup.
Talking about the selection, Heinrich Malan, Ireland Men’s Head Coach, said: “We have an intensive block of T20 cricket coming up this month ahead of the T20 World Cup – we have seven games in 15 days as preparation for the tournament. We will not be treating those seven games as warmups, though, we’ll be aiming to win as many of those games as possible.
“The T20 format is a fast-paced, think-on-your-feet style of cricket. To find a way to win – given the often frenetic and evolving game going on around you – is a skill you can truly only ever learn and develop on the field of play," he added.
Malan said they tested the squad over the last 18 months. “The squad is one that we have gradually developed and tested out over the last 18 or so months – the skill sets we need to cover are there, albeit we have allowed Josh [Little] to continue in the IPL until his side end their campaign, so he will likely join us ahead of the big tournament," he said.
“We are now entering the final stretch before the T20 World Cup begins, it will be a challenging couple of weeks, but we’re ready to tackle whatever is thrown at us.”
Fixtures:
Pakistan T20I Series:
May 10: Ireland v Pakistan (T20I; Clontarf)
May 12: Ireland v Pakistan (T20I; Clontarf)
May 14: Ireland v Pakistan (T20I; Clontarf)
Tri-Series in the Netherlands:
May 19: Ireland v Netherlands (T20I; Voorburg)
May 20: Ireland v Scotland (T20I; Voorburg)
May 23: Ireland v Scotland (T20I; Voorburg)
May 24: Ireland v Netherlands (T20I; Voorburg)
T20 World Cup in US/Caribbean:
May 31: Ireland v Sri Lanka (Warm-up; Florida)
June 5: Ireland v India (T20I; New York)
June 7: Ireland v Canada (T20I; New York)
June 14: Ireland v USA (T20I; Florida)
June 16: Ireland v Pakistan (T20I; Florida)