Galle [Sri Lanka], April 3 : Ireland team is set to get a boost by the return of their opener Paul Stirling for the second test match against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka between 24-28 April 2023.
Stirling had to participate in Ireland's tour of Bangladesh for the white-ball leg, but after changes to the schedule, he has made himself available for the Sri Lankan tour, which originally had a one-off Test and two ODIs, but giving preference to the longer format, an additional Test was announced.
The two matches test series between Sri Lanka and Ireland will start on April 16, however, opener Stirling will be added to the squad for the second test match.
On Stirling's selection, Andrew White, national selector at Cricket Ireland stated as quoted by ICC
"Paul was originally set to join the squad in Sri Lanka for the ODI series that was originally planned. However, with those fixtures now converted to a Test match, and the scheduled Bangladesh T20I series in Ireland postponed, he will now have a greater focus on red-ball cricket and will join the Test squad for that second Test."
Before the series in Sri Lanka, Ireland will first turn their focus on a one-off Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, starting April 4. Stirling would not be a part of that squad.
Ireland squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, James McCollum, Paul Stirling*, PJ Moor, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
