Crucial T20 Showdown: Pakistan Takes on Ireland in First Match

• M Amir expected to be available for Sunday and Tuesday’s T20Is; both Pakistan and Ireland are in the same ICC Men’s T20 World Cup group
• Pakistan and Ireland T20I series on Friday

Dublin, 9 May 2024: On Friday, the Pakistan men’s cricket team will play the first of three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Ireland to begin their European tour. The team will play two further games at Castle Avenue on Sunday and Tuesday before traveling to Headingley, Leeds, on Wednesday to play four Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against England.

Following the England series, England and Pakistan will compete in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, with games slated for Headingley (May 22), Birmingham (May 25), Cardiff (May 28), and The Oval in London (May 30). The opening match for England is scheduled for June 4 in Barbados against Scotland, while the opening match for Pakistan is scheduled for June 6 in Dallas against the USA.

Ireland will be hosting Pakistan for a T20I series for the first time. The only prior meeting between the two teams occurred in the 2009 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which Pakistan won by 39 runs. Kamran Akmal received player of the match for his 51-ball 57 and two stumpings.

Interestingly,For the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, both teams are in the same group and will play one another on June 16 in Florida. In addition to the two teams, the same group also includes India, the United States, and Canada. The top two teams in the group move on to the next round. 

Pakistan head coach, Azhar Mahmood:

“The home series against New Zealand marked the start of our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, and now it’s all about putting the finishing touches on those plans. Our game plans, strategies, and combinations are all clear to us. The goal is to get everything ready before we travel to the US.

Since we’ve only faced Ireland once, they’ll be a somewhat unfamiliar foe. In T20 cricket, though, any team may be deadly because a match can change in just one over. We shall learn a lot about the players and their methods for playing T20 cricket from the three T20Is.

Meanwhile, because of difficulties in the processing of his visa, fast bowler Mohammad Amir will miss the opening Twenty20 International. He is anticipated 

Squads (to be selected from):

Ireland: 

Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Pakistan: 

Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir (unavailable for first T20I), Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.