Cricket Ireland has named a strong 14-member squad for the all-important ODI series against Bangladesh starting on May 9 in Chelmsford. Ireland has included their star pacer Joshua Little in the squad, who is currently part of defending champions Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023.
Ireland pacer Craig Young makes it into the squad after a long injury lay-off, which ruled him out of the 2022 T20 World Cup. It becomes pertinent to mention that Ireland team performed exceptionally well in the mega tournament. The three-match series is very important for the Ireland team, as they can qualify directly for ODI World Cup later this year if they can whitewash the visiting team Bangladesh.
?: SQUADS ANNOUNCED
The Ireland Men's squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh and the Ireland Wolves squad for the warm-up match have been named.
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“The three-match ODI series between Ireland Men and Bangladesh Men are the last fixtures in the ICC World Cup Super League and offers Ireland a potential automatic qualification spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 if the Men in Green can win all three matches. Bangladesh has already qualified for the global tournament,” Ireland Cricket said in a statement.
Ireland Cricket is looking to put the best team for their clash against Bangladesh to give them a good opportunity to qualify 2023 ODI World Cup. Hosts India and 7 different teams will straight away qualify for the tournament. However, two teams will get their tickets through a qualifier competition in Zimbabwe scheduled in June and July.
Earlier, South Africa played with a full squad against the Netherlands to give them the best chance to qualify for the World Cup and they currently have 98 points owing to the ODI Super League table. Ireland would like to deliver by winning three matches against Bangladesh, as they have overall 68 points.