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The T20 World Cup 2024 may seem far away, but it actually isn’t. Till November, all the teams will be occupied with the upcoming ODI World Cup, and the T20 World Cup is scheduled for June and will be taking place in the United States of America with the West Indies. 

The recent India tour to Ireland was nothing but a look at the future of T20 cricket for both teams. Ireland could not qualify for the ODI World Cup, but they have made a place for themselves in the next T20 World Cup. 

Here are a few takeaways from the three-match series between India and Ireland, which eventually ended up being a two-match tour as the third match got washed out: 

• Andrew Balbirnie, the former Ireland captain, took a toll on the Indian side by smashing 72 in the second game. The 32-year-old is one of the most experienced players on the side and knows what his team requires from him being the senior player. Over the years, Balbirnie has shown his class in the limited over formats.

With over 2000 runs in the shortest format, Balbirnie will be the anchor for the side heading into the upcoming T20 World Cup. While opening the innings, Andy has smashed six half-centuries and starts like these are all the Irish team would want from him in the coming months. 

• When it comes to the all-rounders, Ireland have a lot of them. To name a few, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Barry McCarthy, and Mark Adair are the all-rounders, who can hit long balls as well. 

Barry McCarthy, Curtis Campher and Mark Adair showcasedtheir hitting abilities in these two games. Ireland was nowhere near the par score in the 1st T20I, but it was Barry’s hammering 51 that got them to a respectable total of 139. Curtis and Mark also got the starts but could not convert them into the big ones. 

• Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, and Lorcan Tucker haven’t had the best time in this series, but the cricket world is aware of what they can do to other teams. Captain Paul, being the most experienced T20 player in the side, has scored over 3400 runs, and his ability to score runs with a high strike rate will always be an x-factor for his team.

Harry Tector is the one who can start steadily and change gears as his innings proceed. Harry has become the crucial middle-order batter for Ireland in limited-overs cricket. In just 58 innings, Tector has already smashed over 1000 runs in the T20 Internationals. 

On the other hand, Lorcan Tucker, the wicket-keeper batter, is also a promising batter who recently registered his highest T20I score in the European qualifiers for the T20 World Cup against Austria as he smashed 94 of just 51 deliveries. These batters will play a crucial role in Ireland’s journey in the coming few months. 

• The likes of Joshua Little, Mark Adair, Craig Young and Barry McCarthy in the pace set-up of Ireland have an edge over other teams as many teams are not able to find the perfect combination of seamers in the shortest format of the game. Craig Young and Barry picked five wickets combined in just two games against India. 

This set-up of the Irish team under Paul Stirling shows promising signs, and once Harry Tector and the captain Stirling himself are back in touch, they will be more fearless and dangerous. 

Note- image courtesy Cricket Ireland (Twitter)

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