Ireland Team: Schedule, Squad, Strengths, History, Probable Playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026

Strengths They have one of the most settled squads and plenty of experience in the squad. Their top order will be their strength and on the given day they can take the game away from the opposition. Another

strength is the batting depth as they bat very deep and in close fixtures this could prove to be handy.

Weaknesses

Ireland will be playing all their group stage games in Sri Lanka during the WT20. One of their biggest questions will be how their batting will fare in the middle overs against spinners. The conditions could be spin friendly and their batters will be tested. This is an area of weakness.

X Factor

Lorcan Tucker has been on the rise in the last few years for Ireland. He has also played some franchise cricket and is one of the key batters for this Irish side in the middle order. He is also an excellent wicket-keeper. Lorcan Tucker has the potential to be the X factor in the Ireland batting department.

Preferred Playing XI

Paul Stirling©, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Matthew Humphreys

Key Players to Watch

Paul Stirling – One of the leading run getter for Ireland in this format and an established shorter format batter. Paul Stirling has scored 3821 runs in 158 matches and will captain the side in this World T20.

Mark Adair– He is a pace bowling all-rounder and will bowl with the new ball in the power-play. He has picked up 135 wickets in his T20I career. He will also add value with his batting lower down the order.

T20 World Cup history Snapshot

This will be Ireland’s ninth appearance at the WT20 event. They struggled in 2024 WT20 where they lost to India, Canada and Pakistan. Their game against USA was abandoned and they could not win a single game. Ireland will be keen to have a better tournament this time around.

World Cup 2026 Fixtures

8th FEB vs Sri Lanka | 11th FEB vs Australia | 14th FEB vs Oman | 17th FEB vs Zimbabwe

Ireland Squad T20 World Cup 2026:

⁠Paul Stirling ©, Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young