Ireland on Wednesday (15th June) announced the 14-member squad for the upcoming home T20I series against India.

Ireland is all set to host India for the two-match T20I series later this month. The first game between the teams will be played on 26th June followed by the second on 28th. Both the games will be played at The Village in Dublin.

Stephen Doheny and Conor Olphert were the new faces in the Irish squad, which will be led by Andrew Balbirnie. Both the players, who received their maiden call-up, were selected based on their performance in the ongoing Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy. 

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While Doheny amassed 158 runs at an average of 52.67, Olphert bagged six wickets at an average of 19.17. Apart from these two, the rest of the squad has pretty familiar names.

Talking about the squad, Ireland’s Chair of National Men's Selectors Andrew White said that there can’t be an any better challenge for newly appointed head coach Heinrich Malan to start his tenure against India. 

“There aren't many better challenges for a new national coach to have than to start your tenure against the world's number one-ranked T20I side, India. Heinrich [Malan] has been working hard since his arrival in Ireland, crisscrossing the island, getting to know the players and familiarizing himself with the growing depth of talent we have here - and it's this growing depth of talent that has made a challenging selection process for the first fixtures of the men's home season,” Andrew White said. 

He talked about the kind of depth they have picked in the squad and also cited the reason behind Doheny and Olphert’s selection. 

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“The T20I squad features a familiar core to the squad, but it's pleasing to see a number of new faces earn their call-ups in Stephen Doheny and Conor Olphert. Both Warriors' players have impressed at the inter-provincial level this season with consistent performances, while Doheny has also come off the back of a good tour of Namibia with the Ireland Wolves. 

Olphert has bowled quickly, particularly on good wickets at Comber last month, and his selection gives us an opportunity to look at him as a tactical option given what lies ahead for the rest of the year,” he said.

White said that although some unlucky players missed out in the squad, but they pick the team based on the player’s performance in domestic circuits. 

“There are numerous players who could probably consider themselves unlucky not to make these squads but runs and wickets are the currency we look for and the selectors believe we have picked squads that recognise and reward consistent form and performance on the field,” he said. 

Here’s Ireland's squad for the upcoming T20I series against India: 

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

(ANI inputs)