&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "World Champions India to play T20I series against Ireland ahead of England tour")
World Champions India are all set to play Ireland in a T20I series in July ahead of the Men in Blue’s white-ball tour of England. The announcement came on Thursday (Mar 19) with Ireland's director of high performance also confirming Paul Stirling’s decision to step down as captain in T20Is after the side’s poor show in the recently concluded T20 World Cup in India.
India to tour Ireland
While no layout of the tour has been prepared, India will tour Ireland before the England series. The series was not part of the ICC Future Tour Program (FTP), meaning it will serve as a warm-up for the Men in Blue. This will be India’s first away series since winning the T20 World Cup on home soil on March 8 with a thumping win against New Zealand.
Paul Stirling steps down
Graham West, Ireland's director of high performance, confirmed in a press release announcing Stirling's departure that the series will go ahead. Stirling took over from Andy Balbirnie on a full-time basis in 2023 and has captained in 48 T20Is overall. But his tenure included two group-stage exits at T20 World Cups, and he was ruled out of the most recent edition midway through Ireland's second match after sustaining a knee injury while fielding.
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"I still have a huge amount of ambition as a player and feel this decision will allow me to fully focus on being the best version of myself and making the strongest possible contribution on the field," Stirling said while announcing his decision to step down.
"This feels like the right time for the team to move into a new chapter, and I wish whoever takes on the T20 captaincy every success. They will have my full support, and I look forward to working alongside them as we continue to build and push for success on the international stage.”
As per the ICC's Future Tours Programme, Ireland's men are due to host New Zealand (one Test), Bangladesh (three ODIs and three T20Is) and Afghanistan (one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is) next summer.
