Paul Stirling officially quits Ireland captaincy
Published - 19 Mar 2026, 04:54 PM | Updated - 19 Mar 2026, 05:35 PM
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Ireland's legendary cricketer Paul Stirling stepped down from the captaincy job. Cricket Ireland announced the update on March 19. They release an official statement to mark the end of an era. Paul Stirling was the captain of Ireland's T20I team, who guided the team in the 2026 T20 World Cup as well. Cricket Ireland informed that the batter will continue his T20 International career as a batter only. He is the leader of the team in the One Day International format as well.
"Paul Stirling will step down as Ireland Men’s T20 International captain as a new planning cycle begins ahead of the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup – however, he will remain a valued member of the T20I squad and will remain captain of the one-day international squad," the cricket board informed.
Ireland legend Paul Stirling steps down from T20I captaincy
In an emotional speech, the batter himself confirmed that he has a lot to offer to the national cricket team of Ireland, and he will continue as the ODI captain like before. The 35-year-old also stated that he will continue playing T20Is for the Ireland cricket team with new ambitions.
"While I will be stepping away from the T20 captaincy, I remain fully committed to the Ireland team and will continue in my role as ODI captain. I still have a huge amount of ambition as a player and feel this decision will allow me to fully focus on being the best version of myself and making the strongest possible contribution on the field," Paul Stirling said.
Paul Stirling's decision to quit captaincy came at a crucial moment, ahead of the 2028 T20 World Cup.
The 35-year-old's decision to quit the role at a crucial moment for the team, as they will start preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be in 2028. They can shape the team with a new captain, keeping an eye on the upcoming days. Under the new captain, the team will get ample time to prepare itself to achieve bigger goals.
“With qualification secured for the T20 World Cup in 2028, Paul’s decision to stand down as T20 captain provides the opportunity for the new captain to begin implementing their style and methodology, starting with the India Series in June,” Graeme West, Director of High Performance at Cricket Ireland, said.
Stirling's T20I career in brief
The opener has represented Ireland in 163 matches to score a total of 3895 runs for a batting average of 26.31 and a strike rate of 134.35. During this time, he hit twenty-four 50s and a century. From 2019 to 2026, as the skipper-batter, the right-handed batter scored 966 runs at an average of 22.46 in 48 games. During this time span, he registered six half-centuries as well.
From 2009 to 2026, the batter played 26 matches in T20 World Cup tournaments and scored 426 runs for an average of 20.28.
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