T20 World Cup 2021: Shane Getkate, Barry McCarthy left out of Ireland’s final 15 man squad

Cricket Ireland announced its final 15 man squad for the  T20 World Cup 2021. There was no change in the 18 man squad announced last month, only Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Barry McCarthy were put on the reserves list to make the squad in adherence to the ICC rules. 

Announcing the changes, Andrew White, Chair of National Men’s Selectors said that head coach Graham Ford’s opinion was taken and a strong squad was chosen based on the conditions. 

“It was always going to be a very difficult decision to reduce the squad from 18 to 15 – every player out in Dubai at the moment has proven their talent and deserved their chance. 

The three players who have missed out will still have a role to play in supporting the core squad, and stay on within the team bubble as cover in case of injury or illness,” White said in a press release issued by Cricket Ireland. 

“Part of the selectors’ decision-making was around the conditions in both Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, but we also factored in [Head Coach] Graham Ford’s on-the-ground assessment of what he believes to be our most effective combination of players to win games of cricket,” he added. 

The Ireland team, which is currently playing a three-match T20I series against UAE at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai, will play two warm-up matches, on October 12 vs Bangladesh and on October 14 vs Papua New Guinea. Their World Cup campaign begins with a clash against fellow European the Netherlands on October 18 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Squad

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Head Coach: Graham Ford.

Reserve players: Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Barry McCarthy.