Ireland (A)

The T20 World Cup is a familiar platform for Ireland --one of the two newest entrants in the ICC full members list alongside Afghanistan.

Led by an experienced Paul Stirling, the Irish are set to play in their eighth edition of the T20 mega event, having never missed any edition since their debut in 2009.

Interestingly, however, Ireland's debut 2009 campaign was also their best campaign in the tournament as they made it through to the Super 8s in England. They registered a memorable six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their very first outing in the event, making it to the next stage as group runners-up.     

However, if Ireland are to make this edition their best outing, they will have to earn at least the second position in a group that also features title contenders India and Pakistan, alongside hosts USA and Canada.

Ireland can take heart from the fact that they defeated Pakistan for the first time in the shortest format, beating the 2009 edition champions by five wickets at home in May in the first T20I of a three-match series, played as a build-up to the World Cup.

SQUAD

Paul Stirling (C), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

KEY PLAYER

PAUL STIRLING

Stirling holds the record for the most number of T20Is by an Irish player  with 139 caps to his name in the shortest format. He is also the only player to surpass the 3000-run mark – he has scored 3510 T20I runs – in Ireland colours. If the 33-year-old veteran can provide the spark at the top of the order, Ireland's exciting middle order which consists of prospects like Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, and Curtis Campher can help them get big totals.

STAT ATTACK

T20 World Cup Appearance: 8th

T20 World Cup Performance: Played 25, Won 7, Lost 15, NR 3

DID YOU KNOW?

All-rounder Curtis Campher is the only player to have claimed four wickets in four balls in a T20 World Cup, achieving the feat against the Netherlands in 2021.