Ireland announced a 15-man squad for this year’s upcoming ICC Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday would be led by captain Andrew Balbirnie, with opener Paul Stirling serving as his deputy. In addition to these two players, the 15-member squad also includes Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, and Simi Singh.
In the 15-man team, opener Paul Stirling, important all-rounder George Dockrell, and Balbirnie give experience, while star batsman Harry Tector and dependable bowler Mark Adair provide polish to a well-balanced squad.
There will be no Kevin O’Brien, who announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket last month, will be missed by Ireland.
“It’s an exciting moment for Irish cricket as we prepare to participate in another big global tournament. Over the last year, we have been building a solid core squad and increasing our T20 cricket depth. We aim to carry this momentum into the event in Australia,” said Andrew White, Chair of the National Men’s Selectors. “I believe fans have begun to recognize the positive strides the players have been making in this format, particularly after the series victory over Afghanistan.”
“One of the most considered decisions we had to make was around our spin bowling options. With George Dockrell and Gareth Delany both having an impact this summer and the variation they bring to the attack, it came down to making a choice between Simi Singh and Andy McBrine. Andy can feel very unfortunate to have missed out this time, but we believe Simi offers more variation on Australian wickets with his ability to take the ball away from both right and left-handers.
“We believe this is one of the strongest T20 squads we have sent to a World Cup and wish the team and coaching staff well for the tournament ahead.”
Ireland will have to get through a tough group to make it through the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup. On October 17, their first game of the tournament will be against Ireland at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
They will then play Scotland, another European team, and the Caribbean powerhouse West Indies at the same venue. The top two teams in the group will move on to the Super 12 round of the tournament.
Ireland Squad For T20 World Cup 2022
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.