India to take on Ireland in three-match T20I series in Malahide

DUBLIN: Ireland to host Team India for a three-match T20I series set to be played in Malahide between August 18-23, before visiting England for a three-match ODI tour from September 20 to 26.

Cricket Ireland on Friday announced a bumper international schedule for 2023, with the home white-ball series against Bangladesh and India lined up.

Ireland begin their busy schedule with a multi-format tour of Bangladesh between March 18 to April 8, consisting of three ODIs, three T20I's and a one-off Test match. They'll then tour the sub-continent, with two-Test series against Sri Lanka slotted between April 16 and 28.

Andrew Balbirnie's men will then contest a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Chelmsford, pencilled in to be played between May 9 to 14. These three ODIs will be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

Ireland are then set to play a one-off Test match against England between 1-4 June at Lord's.

These newly confirmed fixtures complete a busy six-month playing schedule for Ireland Men which begins this month with the tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In total, Ireland Men will potentially play more than 30 matches between March and September.

Their busy schedule will further be extended if they fail to directly qualify for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup via the Super League, as they would then have to participate in the Qualifier set to be played in Zimbabwe between 18 June to 9 July.

They will also play in the ICC T20 World Cup European Qualifier in Scotland between 20 to 28 July.

Earlier in the summer, Ireland Men will face Bangladesh in a three-match one-day international series that may result in a remarkable Cricket World Cup qualification for the Men in Green. The matches, to be played at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford, in early May are both sides' final World Cup Super League fixtures. While Bangladesh have already qualified for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, a 3-0 series win for Ireland may see them also qualify automatically for the global tournament. If Ireland do not win 3-0, they will head to Zimbabwe in June for the 50-over World Cup Qualifier.

"We need to play and win the three games to qualify. 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," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said in a press release.

"We need a venue where the weather patterns and playing facilities give us the best chance of mitigating any rain impact. 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," he added.

"We are incredibly excited to host Ireland and Bangladesh for this series of Men's ODI matches. The Cloud County Ground has a long-standing history of staging international sides, and we are proud to have been chosen as the host venue in an important series for both sides. We look forward to welcoming supporters to Chelmsford and engaging with our local communities to put on a memorable experience for everyone involved," John Stephenson, Essex's chief executive, said.