Andrew Balbirnie harbours hopes of T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals with Ireland

Andrew Balbirnie in action (Source: AP)

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie has revealed that the Irish have not given up hopes of making it to the semi finals of the T20 World Cup 2022. 

The Irish have done reasonably well in the marquee event so far but they were unfortunate against Afghanistan as the game was washed out due to rain. 

Prior to that, they had picked up a win over England via the DLS method. 

Ireland are currently third in the group and a top four finish would guarantee them a place in the next T20 World Cup in 2024. However, Balbirnie remains upbeat that Ireland can reach the semis and they will not be content with qualification for the next World Cup. 

The likes of Balbirnie, Paul Stirling have done quite well in the World Cup so far. Ireland are more than capable of pushing for a top two place and it remains to be seen how their campaign unfolds over the next few days. 

As quoted by Belfast Telegraph, Balbirnie said:

“We certainly believe we can (reach the Semi-Finals) and I wouldn’t want to be part of a group that didn’t think that,” he said. “That would certainly be a bad environment to be part of and myself, Heinrich (Malan, the head coach) and a couple of the senior players try to drive that as much as possible.

“Our result on Wednesday (against England) backs that belief as well. We didn’t play our best cricket and we still managed to beat a team as good as England, so that was a positive.”

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