Cricket Ireland have announced their 18-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October-November. Uncapped spinner Graham Kennedy has been picked in the outfit led by senior player Andrew Balbirnie.
Leg-spinner Gareth Delany has made his comeback, but the 24-year-old medium-pacer William McClintock, who recently made his international debut against Zimbabwe, has been left out.
“I think Gareth Delany coming back was a big factor. It’s not something that William McClintock has or has not done that has affected the decision. I thought the way he was managed through the South Africa series and being involved around the squad and the senior players was crucial to him in making his debut,” said Andrew White, Chairman of National Men’s Selectors, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“He did everything that was asked of him. But in terms of the balance of the squad, obviously, with Gareth Delany coming back in and then making sure we had the necessary spinners at our disposal for the conditions that we’re probably going to face in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. IPL is coming up now, so we expect the pitches to be spinning ones and low and slow, so we had to consider that. Obviously, William was unfortunate to miss out,” added White.
Ireland are placed in a group that consists of the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia in Round 1. They need to finish as one of the top two sides to make it to the Super 12s. Before the start of Round 1, the Irish side will play two warm-up games against Papua New Guinea on October 12 and Bangladesh on October 14.
Here is Ireland’s squad (including three reserves) for T20 World Cup 2021:
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.
Note: The 18-player squad will be re-grouped to a 15-member core outfit plus three travelling reserves in early October.
