William Porterfield is stepping down as short-format skipper to focus on leading the Test and ODI teams.
Gary Wilson has been appointed as Ireland’s new T20I captain, replacing William Porterfield who is relinquishing the role to focus on his leadership duties with the Test and ODI teams.
Porterfield has skippered Ireland across all formats since succeeding Trent Johnston in 2008, leading his country in 56 T20Is.
Wilson, a batsman who can also keep wicket, has a wealth of experience at international level, playing 53 T20Is since making his debut in 2008. He has hit two half-centuries in the format, with a high score of 65* coming against Scotland in January 2017.
The 32-year-old deputised as skipper against Papua New Guinea in February 2016 and has previous captaincy experience with Surrey in English domestic cricket, where he worked under current Ireland head coach Graham Ford. Wilson’s first challenge as captain will be a tri-series also featuring Scotland and the Netherlands which begins in Rotterdam on 12 June.
“I am absolutely honoured to be asked to undertake this role. With 16 months until the qualifying tournament for next World Twenty20 tournament in Australia, I believe this is a timely opportunity to prepare the squad for an important new phase in Irish cricket,” said Wilson.
“I hope my experience and leadership in this form of the game will be of benefit in developing the next generation of leaders and am looking forward to the first step in this journey – the tri-series in the Netherlands.”
Porterfield said it was the right time to step away after a decade in the role.
“It has been a huge honour to captain my country across all formats for the past 10 years, and I have been fortunate enough to captain Ireland at the last five World Twenty20’s,” he said.
“With the qualifiers only a year or so away, I feel that now is the right time for me and the team for a fresh voice and leader in this format. I will now focus solely on my batting in a format that I love playing. I would like to thank everyone for their support over the past 10 years and indeed in making this decision. Finally I would like to wish Gary all the best in what is an exciting time for him.”
Ireland announced a 14-man squad for the forthcoming tri-series, noting that Josh Little and David Delany were unavailable to be considered for selection at this time.
Squad: Gary Wilson (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter (wk), Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Craig Young
