IRE vs SA: Ireland squads for South Africa series announced, Andrew Balbirnie dropped from T20Is

On Thursday, September 12, Cricket Ireland announced the T20I and ODI squads for the upcoming series against South Africa National Cricket Team with Test skipper Andrew Balbirnie being dropped from the T20I team.

The Ireland vs South Africa series consists of a two-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series. Notably, the T20Is are set to be played on September 27 and 28 in Abu Dhabi while the ODIs will be played on October 2, 4, and 7 in Abu Dhabi.

The biggest talking point coming out of the squad announcement was the removal of Andrew Balbirnie from the T20I setup. However, he hasn't been completely dropped from the white-ball setup, as he is all set to open the batting for the team in the ODI series.

Other than Balbirnie all the regular T20I members, including Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, and Harry Tector, feature in the squad.

Under the leadership of Paul Stirling, the Irish Team would be aiming to pull off some magical wins over the Proteas Team, who are famous for losing matches to minnows.

The Irish Team last played T20I cricket in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, where they remained winless in the group stage, losing to India, Canada, and Pakistan, while their last international fixture was a one-off Test against Zimbabwe, which they won.

We’ll be looking at introducing a new dynamic, with Andrew Balbirnie sitting out the T20Is on this occasion - Ireland selector Andrew White

In an official media release, the Ireland National selector, Andrew White, said that they will be entering a new cycle with the South Africa series, and he also spoke about the absence of injured players. He said:

“2026 and 2027 are pivotal years for our white-ball squads – those years being the next T20 and 50-over World Cups respectively. Given their timeframes, it means we are looking at this upcoming series against South Africa as the start of a new cycle. With that in mind, there are a number of selections and playing combinations that we will look at – albeit a number of uncapped players that were actively being considered – such as Morgan Topping and Liam McCarthy – who are still nursing injuries at present and were not able to be considered."

While talking about Andrew Balbirnie's absence, White said that they want to try out new things. Hence, the decision was made to drop the Test skipper from T20Is. He elaborated:

“One area we will explore on this tour is the top order in our T20 squad. We’ll be looking at introducing a new dynamic, with Andrew Balbirnie sitting out the T20Is on this occasion. There are only two T20Is in the upcoming series, but they will offer important opportunities as we try to increase our levels of performance again. Andrew remains very much central to our thoughts and will open the batting in the ODIs.

"The Ireland Emerging and Wolves tours over the last 18 months have been invaluable to the players but also in terms of our succession planning. We need to deepen our pool of international cricketers and for the likes of Gavin Hoey, he will come into the international arena with greater confidence following his involvement in such fixtures and this is hugely important. The volume of international fixtures leading into 2027 is exciting and there will be opportunities for players to make their mark."

Ireland Men’s ODI squad:

Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Gavin Hoey, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young

Ireland Men’s T20I squad:

Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Matthew Humphreys, Graham Hume, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young