Ireland will play six warm-up matches before their first game of the tournament in Hobart against Zimbabwe on October 17. Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket from October 16.
By Amar Mehta
Last Updated: 20/09/22 12:54pm
Ireland have left out Andy McBrine from their T20 World Cup squad, with Simi Singh getting the nod.
The 15-player group also features Conor Olphert and Craig Young, who return after missing August’s 3-2 series win over Afghanistan in Stormont through injuries.
Singh replaced McBrine for the final two games of that series and retains his spot in the squad.
Graham Hume featured in the Afghanistan series, but has also been left out.
The World Cup in Australia starts on 16 October and will be Ireland’s first major tournament under head coach Heinrich Malan.
Andrew White, who is the chair of the national men’s selectors, said that it is “an exciting time for Irish cricket” and the World Cup is the “beginning of a new era”.
“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 – and we hope we can take this momentum into the tournament in Australia,” he said.
Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Paul Stirling (vice-captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Simi Singh, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
“The age profile of this squad makes our future prospects very exciting, and after a season of eye-catching performances we have seen a greater level of interest in our players by teams in franchise tournaments around the world, which is a positive sign.
“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.”
Ireland will leave for Australia on September 29, playing three-warm up matches in Sydney, before two more warm-ups against Namibia and Sri Lanka in Melbourne.
They will open their first-round matches in Hobart against Zimbabwe on October 17 before group games against Scotland and the West Indies.