Men’s T20 World Cup champions India are set to face Ireland in a series in June before their upcoming white-ball tour of England. This series, although not part of the ICC Future Tours Programme, will serve as a preparatory phase for India ahead of their tour to England. The England tour will include five T20Is in various cities like Chester-le-Street, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, and Southampton, along with three ODIs.
India, under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, recently secured their third Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2026 on home ground with an impressive 96-run victory over New Zealand in the final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Graeme West, the Director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, confirmed the fixtures while also announcing that Paul Stirling, the veteran batter, had stepped down as the T20I captain post the team’s disappointing World Cup campaign that ended in a group stage exit.
Acknowledging Stirling’s leadership qualities and experience, West mentioned that Stirling would continue to lead the ODI squad with a focus on qualifying for and participating in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup scheduled for October-November. With the T20 World Cup qualification secured for 2028, Stirling’s decision to relinquish the T20 captaincy opens up opportunities for a new captain to bring in fresh strategies, starting with the upcoming series against India in June.
This change in captaincy will result in Ireland Men’s team having distinct captains for each format. Andrew Balbirnie will lead the team in Tests, Stirling in ODIs, and the new T20I captain will be announced at a later stage. Notably, India’s last visit to Ireland was in August 2023 for a three-match T20I series held at the Malahide Cricket Ground. Led by Jasprit Bumrah, India clinched the series 2–0 with wins in the first two matches, while the third game was abandoned due to rain.
