Paul Stirling to lead Ireland team against Bangladesh for T20Is; Andrew Balbirnie rested
Mar 26, 2023
Dublin [Ireland], March 26 : Regular captain Andrew Balbirnie was rested from the T20 leg of the Bangladesh tour with senior opener Paul Stirling stepping in to lead the side, Cricket Ireland announced on Sunday.
Ireland are on a multi-format tour of Bangladesh with three ODIs, three T20Is and a solitary Test match.
They lost the three-game ODI series 2-0, and the T20I series is due to start from March 27.
Cricket Ireland has selected Stirling, who has served as the team's vice-captain since 2019, as the captain for the T20Is. His constable will be Lorcan Tucker.
Six times in this format, Stirling has led Ireland as captain.
Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan explained how the temporary change was necessitated by Balbirnie's request for a break before the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
"Andrew was due to take a break from the ODI series against Sri Lanka next month to concentrate on preparation for the upcoming Tests and the all-important World Cup Super League series in May. With the Sri Lankan ODI series now being converted to a second Test Match, he will now be rested from this T20I series instead," Malan said in an official statement released by Cricket Ireland.
"We flagged before the tour that there may be an element of player rotation this year due to the anticipated volume of cricket we will be playing. I see it is an essential part of squad and player management that we give our leading players adequate downtime for their physical and mental health," he added.
"Such rotation also allows us to broaden the talent pool by enabling a wider group of players first-team opportunities," Malan said.
Squad for T20Is: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Tom Mayes, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White and Craig Young.
Squad for Test: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker and Ben White.
