Gary Wilson will lead the team in the Twenty20 Internationals, while William Porterfield will be in charge of the one-day international team.
>>ICC approves plans for Afghanistan Premier League<<
Afghanistan will travel to Ireland for back-to-back series of three T20Is and ODIs apiece this month, to be played between 20 and 31 August.
The T20I squad is a relatively inexperienced one, with David Delany, the 20-year-old right-arm medium pacer, and Josh Little, the teenaged left-arm fast bowler, included.
Some of the more experienced members of the squad – Andrew Balbirnie, Simi Singh and Peter Chase and James Shannon – also have limited T20I experience, making for exciting times.
“The T20I squad is one with an experienced spine surrounded by young, exciting and talented players who want to show they belong in the international arena,” said Andrew White, the National Chair of Men’s Selectors. “We’re very keen to see what younger players like David Delany and Josh Little can bring to the set-up.
“Josh, for instance, brings us some much-needed variation with his left-arm pace and ability to bat powerfully down the order, and as we know variation is key to success in the T20 format.
“Although we’re in discussions about more, at this point we only have nine T20 Internationals in the schedule between now and the [ICC] World T20 Qualifier tournament in 2019, so it is essential from a squad and individual perspective that we are providing some of our key players as much experience in the format as possible.
“Even squad members like Andrew Balbirnie, Simi Singh, Peter Chase and James Shannon, who some perceive have the experience, it’s worth keeping in mind they have played just over 30 T20Is collectively, so it is imperative we provide players like these as much T20 cricket as we can.”
>>Wafadar, Shirzad earn maiden call-up for Ireland ODIs<<
Porterfield recently stepped away from T20I captaincy, but remains in charge of the ODI side, which has far more experience as compared to the T20 side.
“On the ODI squad, this is a strong and experienced squad that has been chosen to match the opposition and give us the best chance of success in this immediate series,” said White. “A number of players, like Andrew Balbirnie and Andy McBrine, have stood out with outstanding performances during this recent Ireland Wolves series and we hope they can bring their form into the Afghan series.
“We are also hoping Paul Stirling can bring his red-hot form from county cricket with Middlesex to the international side. On his day, he can have a devastating impact upon the opposition.”
Delany has been included in the ODI side too, while George Dockrell is back in the mix in both squads.
“We’re very much looking forward to these six white-ball matches against a team that has become a great on-field rival over the last decade. All of our recent matches have been close, hard-fought affairs and we expect no different on this occasion,” pointed out White.
>>England set to host Ireland in July ’19<<
“The selectors had a very difficult job with both the T20I and ODI squads, given the excellent domestic form of our senior players and the breadth of younger talent that are starting to put their hands up for senior honours. It’s a great time for cricket in Ireland watching the ongoing development of the younger players, and we are keen to bring them through the system in a way that ensures they are ready for the rigours of international cricket.”
It will be a tough ask for Ireland to trump Afghanistan, who are ranked higher than them in both ODIs and T20Is in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Team Rankings. In ODIs, Afghanistan are No.10 to Ireland’s No.12, while in T20Is, the visitors are eighth as compared to the hosts’ 17th place.
T20I squad: Gary Wilson (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, David Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson
ODI squad: William Porterfield (C), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, David Delany, George Dockrell, Andrew McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson.
Schedule
20 August: First T20I in Bready
22 August: Second T20I in Bready
24 August: Third T20I in Bready
27 August: First ODI in Stormont
29 August: Second ODI in Stormont
31 August: Third ODI in Stormont
