Following considerable anticipation, we are finally witnessing Ireland announcing its squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 on Tuesday. The talented Ireland team will be led by captain Andrew Balbirnie.
Team Overview
In the 15-member team, opener Paul Stirling, an important all-rounder George Dockrell, and Balbirnie offer experience. While star batter Harry Tector and reliable bowler Mark Adair polish a well-balanced group.
Balbirnie will lead Ireland’s assault that has a good balance of great veterans and promising young players. The team will miss the services of Kevin O’Brien, who quit all international cricket last month after being left off the team that participated in the Qualifier.
Selector’s Opinion
Andrew White, Chair of National Men’s Selectors talked about how the upcoming World Cup is a great opportunity for the team, as he said, It’s an exciting time for Irish cricket as we embark on another major global tournament. Over the last year, we have been building a solid core squad, while creating more depth in our T20 cricket. I think fans have started to see the positive strides. The players have been making in this format – especially with the series win over Afghanistan. We hope we can take this momentum into the tournament in Australia,”
Explaining the choice of player for the tournament he said, “One of the most considered decisions we had to make was around our spin bowling options. George Dockrell and Gareth Delany both having an impact this summer. 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.”
Fixtures
The first round of the T20 World Cup will feature a challenging group for Ireland, who will face Zimbabwe in their opening match on October 17 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
The top two teams from the group advance to the Super 12 stage of the competition, where they play neighboring European nation Scotland and Caribbean powerhouse West Indies.
Ireland T20 World Cup squad:
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.
