Ireland have picked uncapped spinner Graham Kennedy in their 18-member squad for the T20 World Cup, led by Andrew Balbirnie. Gareth Delany returned, to the squad for the showpiece event. William McClintock, who recently made his international debut against Zimbabwe, missed out on a spot. "I think Gareth Delany coming back was a big factor. It's not something that William McClintock has or has not done that has affected the decision," Andrew White, Chairman of National Men's Selectors, said. "I thought the way he was managed through the South Africa series and being involved around the squad and the senior players was crucial to him in making his debut.
He did everything that was asked of him. But in terms of the balance of the squad obviously with Gareth Delany coming back in and then making sure we had the necessary spinners at our disposal for the conditions that we're probably going to face in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. There's IPL coming up now so we expect the pitches to be spinning ones and low and slow so there we had to take that into consideration. Obviously, William was unfortunate to miss out." Delany returns after having last featured in a T20I for Ireland in March 2020, but brings a level of experience to the Irish squad.
Squad (Including three reserves): Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O'Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.
The board has also accounted for covid and injuries by picking Andrew McBrine as a back-up option." He [McBrine] comes as a back-up," head coach Graham Ford said. "The way it's been is that Simi has nailed down a spot. You are going in this World Cup campaign and you have to have cover for Covid or injuries. It's a no-brainer, he is an automatic pick into the 18."Ireland are listed with Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Namibia in Round 1, and need to finish as one of the top two sides to make it to the Super 12s. Ford acknowledged the pressures that come with the task, while assessing two of the oppositions - Netherlands and Namibia." Netherlands are very competitive," Ford said. "They beat us not long ago in the 50-over series, they had six players who were involved in the Hundred. There's guys like Roelof [van der Merwe] that have been around for ages and ages and ignite the energy in the group, so we are well aware that's going to be a huge game and makes things tougher for us.
