The World Stage awaits
DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland has today named its 15-player squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 that will be played in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March 2026.Ireland will be based in Sri Lanka for the Group Stage of the tournament – a Group that includes Australia, Sri Lanka, Oman and Zimbabwe.It will be a busy start to the year for Ireland Men, with five T20Is set to be played in January in Dubai on the way to the T20 World Cup,, followed by an official warm-up match before the start of the global event.Paul Stirling will once more lead the squad, with Lorcan Tucker his deputy.The Irish squad will depart Dublin on the 15 January 2026.IRELAND MEN’S SQUADThe Ireland Men’s squad for series’ against Italy, UAE and the T20 World Cup:Paul Stirling (captain) (Northern Knights)Mark Adair (Lisburn / Northern Knights)Ross Adair (Lisburn / Northern Knights)Ben Calitz (Lisburn / Northern Knights)Curtis Campher (Clontarf / Munster Reds)Gareth Delany (Leinster / Munster Reds)George Dockrell (Phoenix / Leinster Lightning)Matthew Humphreys (Instonians / Northern Knights)Josh Little (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)Barry McCarthy (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)Harry Tector (Pembroke /Leinster Lightning)Tim Tector (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)Lorcan Tucker (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)Ben White (Phoenix / Munster Reds)Craig Young (North Down / North West Warriors)Andrew White, National Men’s Selector, said:“To say we are very much looking forward to this T20 World Cup is an under-statement. After a memorable 2022 tournament, we probably weren’t at our best in 2024 – and have been waiting to rectify that ever since.“The last 18 months have been used to test a number of different options in tactics, roles and combinations and we are happy with where the squad is at going into the tournament. That 12 of the 15 players from the 2024 campaign are in this squad also demonstrates that we have a fairly settled squad, however, we have also been able to begin to integrate some exciting new talent – such as Tim Tector, Ben Calitz and Matthew Humphreys – and they add a further dynamic nature to the playing group.“There is no doubt we are in a highly competitive Group, which includes playing the tournament hosts and the current T20 World Cup champions in our first two games, but we have played these sides recently enough in previous editions of this tournament, and will go into these matches with no fear.“We have played a fair bit in this part of the world in the last few years, so we will be in a good position to plan and prepare thoroughly, and be ready for the challenge when the time comes.“We play our Group games in Sri Lanka, which is usually a country that draws a great travelling group of Irish fans, so we look forward to seeing plenty of green in the stands.”THE UAE SERIES’Ireland Men will play a three-match T20I series against Italy, followed by a two-match T20I series against the UAE later this month (all times are local to the venue):23 January 2026: Ireland Men v Italy Men – 1st T20I (Sevens Stadium, Dubai; starts 10am)25 January 2026: Ireland Men v Italy Men – 2nd T20I (Sevens Stadium, Dubai; starts 10am)26 January 2026: Ireland Men v Italy Men – 3rd T20I (Sevens Stadium, Dubai; starts 6pm)29 January 2026: Ireland Men v UAE Men – 1st T20I (Dubai International Stadium; starts 6pm)31 January 2026: Ireland Men v UAE Men – 2nd T20I (Dubai International Stadium; starts 10am)THE T20 WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT20 teams will compete in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup:Teams are split into four groups of five teams (listed below) – Ireland is in Group B.The top two teams in each group after the completion of the group matches proceed to the Super 8 stage, with semi-finals and a final to follow.The Groups are:Group AIndiaNamibiaNetherlandsPakistanUSAGroup BAustraliaIrelandOmanSri LankaZimbabweGroup CBangladeshEnglandItalyNepalWest IndiesGroup DAfghanistanCanadaNew ZealandSouth AfricaUnited Arab EmiratesThe Ireland matches in the Group Stage are (all times local to the venue):5 February 2026: Ireland Men v Zimbabwe Men (warm-up match; Colombo; starts 3pm)8 February 2026: Ireland Men v Sri Lanka (Group B; Colombo; starts 7pm)11 February 2026: Ireland Men v Australia (Group B; Colombo; starts 3pm)14 February 2026: Ireland Men v Oman (Group B; Colombo; starts 11am)17 February 2026: Ireland Men v Zimbabwe (Group B; Kandy; starts 3pm)21 February – 1 March 2026: Super 8 Stage4-5 March 2026: Semi-Finals8 March 2026: Final
