Colombo, Feb 13 (IANS) The Ireland cricket team has been dealt a massive blow as their captain, Paul Stirling, has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup 2026 due to an injury he suffered during the team’s first match in the tournament, played against Australia at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.
Cricket Ireland confirmed the captain’s exit on Friday. The T20 World Cup Event Technical Committee have approved a replacement player for Stirling, with uncapped youngster Sam Topping joining Ireland’s 15-player squad with immediate effect.
“Paul Stirling underwent an assessment and a scan after the Australian match, which has subsequently revealed ligament damage; as such, he has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup. Paul will shortly return home for rest and rehabilitation, ahead of the home summer,” Graeme West, Director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, said in a statement.
“To replace Paul, we have called up Sam Topping, who is able to provide immediate cover as he is a short flight away in Chennai. Sam has been with the Northern Knights training squad and has been playing and training in similar conditions to Sri Lanka. The skill set he offers provides cover across a number of areas within the squad, which is important as Ben Calitz is also carrying a knock to his hand after the last match,” it added.
Topping is a left-handed opening batter who last year featured for Ireland A in their four-day match against Afghanistan A in Abu Dhabi.
Stirling was fielding at cover in the 7th over of the first innings against Australia when he dived high to his right to take a spectacular catch to dismiss Josh Inglis. However, as he came down, he landed on the point of his knee on an area of hard ground.
Going into the second innings, Stirling advised team management he felt he was able to bat and walked out to open with Ross Adair.
On the first ball, Stirling dug out a full-length ball on leg stump to wide mid on and set off for a single. As he took a few steps, his knee buckled – and despite successfully struggling to complete the single in obvious pain, the skipper was forced to retire hurt.
Ireland had not officially announced their new captain, but Vice Captain Lorcan Tucker is likely to fulfil the captaincy duties.
Meanwhile, Ireland had a poor start to the tournament as they suffered a massive 67-run defeat against the 2021 World Cup champions in their campaign opener. The team will now face Oman in their next group stage match to be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) on Saturday.
–IANS
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