Ireland set for white-ball series against India, Bangladesh

India and Ireland are set to face off in yet another T20 International (T20I) series in August. The two teams, who clashed in a couple of T20Is last year will play three games at Malahide between August 18 and 23. Earlier in the summer though, Ireland will take on Bangladesh in a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series which will be part of the ODI Super League, one of the pathways for a direct World Cup Qualification. 

Ireland are still in with a chance of making it to the World Cup in India directly. However, they will have to win all three games against Bangladesh and also hope for other results to go their way. They will hope for a favour from the Netherlands and New Zealand, who take on South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively in the upcoming weeks.

The result in those series too will play a pivotal role in determining who progresses directly to the mega event. If Ireland fail to finish in the top eight of the Super League table, they will play a qualifier in Zimbabwe in June.

Ireland are set to play 30 international games between March and September. The number will go up if they play the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

“Summer 2023 will be a feast of men’s cricket but will look very different to normal for fans. We can today confirm India visiting Ireland for a second consecutive year and confirm the World Cup Super League series against Bangladesh will proceed in early May. This is on top of the already announced Test match at Lord’s in June and the three-match ODI series in September against England," Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland, said

“Making our summer slightly unusual is that we have not been able to look at organising any bilateral cricket between mid-June and mid-July given the potential of our participation in the 50-over Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier. It won’t be until after the Bangladesh series that we will learn whether we are heading to the Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

The three-match ODI series against Bangladesh will be played in Chelmsford in England in September. Explaining the reason behind moving the matches to England.

“We will be taking on Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series that offers us a shot at World Cup qualification – and while they are home matches, we’ve made the decision to play the fixtures in Chelmsford. The reason for this is mostly around maximising our chances of playing the three matches – as we need to play and win the three games to qualify," Deutrom explains.

“After in-depth consideration, it was decided that this approach gave us the best chance of securing automatic qualification particularly given the fact that the matches have to be played before the World Cup Super League cut-off in mid-May. We need a venue where the weather patterns and playing facilities give us the best chance of mitigating any rain impacts. 

"Unfortunately, it is likely too early in the Irish season to prepare pitches to ODI standard unless we have a remarkably dry April. This only underscores our determination to accelerate the development of our permanent venue infrastructure, an objective which remains among my most pressing.”

Ireland's immediate tours include the one to Bangladesh, where they will play three ODIs, three T20Is and a Test against the hosts followed by a tour to Sri Lanka, where they will play a couple of Tests.