New Delhi: Cricket Ireland announced on Friday that the men’s team will face off against India in a three-match T20I series at Malahide from August 18-23.
India and Ireland had earlier played a two-match T20I series in 2022. India, led by all-rounder Hardik Pandya, won the series 2-0, though Ireland ran them close in the second match.
Earlier in the summer, Ireland’s men’s team will face Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series which is crucial for the hosts from the 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup qualification point of view. The matches, to be played at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford, in early May are both sides’ final ICC Cricket World Cup Super League fixtures.
While Bangladesh have already qualified for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in India in October-November, a 3-0 series win for Ireland may see them also qualify automatically for the global tournament. If Ireland do not win 3-0, they will head to Zimbabwe in June for the ODI World Cup Qualifier.
“Summer 2023 will be a feast of men’s cricket but will look very different to normal for fans. We can today confirm India visiting Ireland for a second consecutive year and confirm the World Cup Super League series against Bangladesh will proceed in early May. This is on top of the already announced Test match at Lord’s in June and the three-match ODI series in September against England.”
“Making our summer slightly unusual is that we have not been able to look at organising any bilateral cricket between mid-June and mid-July given the potential of our participation in the 50-over Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier. It won’t be until after the Bangladesh series that we will learn whether we are heading to the Qualifier in Zimbabwe,” said Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland.
These newly-confirmed fixtures complete a busy six-month playing schedule for Ireland Men, which begins this month with a tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In total, Ireland Men will potentially play more than 30 matches between March and September.
“Also, in late July we have the ICC T20 World Cup European Qualifier – which is another away set of fixtures. Given the rather different shape of this summer, fans are encouraged to buy their tickets early for home matches given the anticipated interest and demand it will generate. Even if the series against India is half as dramatic as last year’s, it will be more than worth the price of admission.”
“We extend our grateful thanks to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for fitting in matches rescheduled during the Covid era, as well as to the BCCI and Cricket West Indies for being so flexible given the uncertainties of World Cup Qualifier participation. It certainly hasn’t been an easy task to schedule these fixtures, but we have achieved it and are delighted to confirm them today,” added Deutrom.
Asked why Ireland will be playing their home ODIs in May against Bangladesh in England, Deutrom said, “We will be taking on Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series that offers us a shot at World Cup qualification – and while they are home matches, we’ve made the decision to play the fixtures in Chelmsford. The reason for this is mostly around maximising our chances of playing the three matches – as we need to play and win the three games to qualify.”
“After in-depth consideration, it was decided that this approach gave us the best chance of securing automatic qualification particularly given the fact that the matches have to be played before the World Cup Super League cut-off in mid-May.”
“We need a venue where the weather patterns and playing facilities give us the best chance of mitigating any rain impacts. Unfortunately, it is likely too early in the Irish season to prepare pitches to ODI standard unless we have a remarkably dry April.”
“This only underscores our determination to accelerate the development of our permanent venue infrastructure, an objective which remains among my most pressing.”
(IANS)
