Balbirnie rested as Stirling steps in to captain Ireland in Bangladesh T20Is

Chattogram: Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie will be rested for his team’s T20I series against Bangladesh starting from Monday and opener Paul Stirling will step into the role, Cricket Ireland said on Sunday.

“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,” said head coach Heinrich Malan in a press conference.

Stirling has captained Ireland six times in T20Is in the past and has been vice-captain of Ireland team since 2019. With Balbirnie now rested, and Stirling stepping in, Lorcan Tucker will act as vice-captain for the series against Bangladesh.

“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 down time for their physical and mental health. Such rotation also allows us to broaden the talent pool by enabling a wider group of players first team opportunities,” added Malan.

After losing the ODI series 2-0 to Bangladesh, Ireland will play three T20Is against the hosts’ on March 27, 29 and 31 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Balbirnie will return to captain Ireland in the one-off Test against Bangladesh, to be played from April 4-8 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

Ireland squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Paul Stirling (Capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Tom Mayes, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Ireland squad for Bangladesh Test: Andrew Balbirnie (Capt), 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, Ben White.

–IANS