By Admin 
Ireland cricket team has suffered a big setback in the T20 World Cup 2026. Team captain Paul Sterling is out of the entire tournament due to injury. Sterling was injured during the match against the Australian cricket team. Ireland’s next match is with Oman on Saturday.
Paul Stirling was injured while catching Josh Inglis. While taking the catch, his knee hit the ground hard. After that catch, Sterling walked out of the field. In his place, Lorcan Tucker took over the captaincy against Australia.
Paul Stirling came out to bat against Australia, but while trying to score runs, his knee got twisted and he had to leave the field after retiring hurt. Now Sterling is out of the entire tournament. Ireland’s high performance director Graeme West said that losing Sterling’s experience is a big blow to the team.
Paul Sterling’s replacement announced
As a replacement for Sterling, 20-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Topping has joined the Ireland team. The good thing is that Topping is currently in the training camp of CSK, due to which he will join the team soon. Graeme West said, “He has high expectations from Topping.”
West further said, “To replace Paul, we have called in Sam Topping, who can join the team soon. He has been with the Northern Knights training squad and has been playing and training in similar conditions to Sri Lanka.” West also praised his skill set.
Ireland cricket team lost to Sri Lanka in its first match of T20 World Cup 2026. Australia defeated Ireland in the second match. With the aim of getting the first win of the tournament, the team will play against Oman on Saturday. After this, their last match in the group stage will be with Zimbabwe on 17 February.
Ireland’s updated squad
Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Sam Topping, Ben White, Craig Young.