Ireland bring back Delany and Hand for India T20Is

Fionn Hand and Gareth Delany are back in the Ireland squad for the three-match T20I series against India, starting from August 18. The two all-rounders have come in place of wicketkeeper-batter Neil Rock and seamer Graham Hume.

While Delany has been out of action since June due to a broken wrist, Hand hasn’t played a T20I for Ireland since April. The 25-year-old, however, did make his Test debut in June.

Ireland have confirmed their spot in next year's T20 World Cup, which will be played in West Indies and USA, finishing in the top two along with Scotland in the T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier earlier this year.

"The recent qualifying campaign in Scotland was the first stage of our strategic planning for next June's T20 World Cup," said Ireland men's national selector Andrew White.

"We currently have around 15 T20 Internationals scheduled between now and the World Cup, so it is important that we use each of these to continue to build on areas that the coaching team have identified.

"We only have a limited time between now and the end of the 2023 domestic season, so it's also crucial that we use the opportunities we have to provide exposure and experience to a pool of players we believe are in contention for making that World Cup squad.”

White said Ireland will try to give everyone some game time against the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian unit. "Giving opportunities to players also filters down the series themselves, so I would expect that all of the 15 players named in the India series squad will feature at some point," White said. 

"The Indian side arriving in Ireland is an exciting one for the supporters, but as we showed last year, we have the talent and confidence to match them on the field of play and we have high hopes for another fiercely contested series."

"So, while the immediate task at hand for Heinrich (Malan, Head Coach) and the leadership team is the India challenge, we are definitely framing this series as an important component of a longer-term plan to be ready to take on the world's best at the T20 World Cup next year.”

All three T20Is will be played in Dublin on August 18, 20 and 23.

Squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Ben White, Craig Young.