India To Tour Ireland Before White-Ball Series Against England

Hyderabad: World Champions India are all set to tour Ireland before their white-ball series against England in June. Ireland's director of high performance, Graham West, confirmed the schedule when he announced that Paul Stirling is stepping down from the T20I captaincy.

India will be hosting Afghanistan for a one-off Test and a three-match ODI series, which will end on June 20. The team is set to tour England for five T20Is and three ODIs from July 1-19. Between the two series, India will tour Ireland for the white-ball series.

West confirmed that the India series is part of the upcoming plans of the national team.

"With qualification secured for the T20 World Cup in 2028, Paul's (Stirling) decision to stand down as T20 captain provides the opportunity for the new captain to begin implementing their style and methodology, starting with the India series in June," West said in a press release.

Notably, India have toured Ireland thrice in the past seven years (2018, 2022 and 2023), which drew strong crowds in Dublin.

Speaking on his decision to step down from the leadership role, Striling said that it has been an honour to lead the country.

"It has been a tremendous honour to lead Ireland in this format and something I have been incredibly proud to do. Captaining your country is a privilege that carries great responsibility, and I'm very grateful for the trust and support I have received during my time in the role," he said.

In the T20 World Cup 2026, Ireland lost to Sri Lanka and Australia before beating Oman. Their first match against Zimbabwe was abandoned. Lorcan Tucker was the leading run-getter for the team, scoring 139 runs with an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of 144.79, including one half-century. Barry McCarthy and George Dockrell were the leading wicket-takers for the team with four wickets each.