Ireland Women and Sri Lanka Women are set to face off in the first T20I of a two-match series on Sunday at Pembroke Cricket Club, Dublin. This series not only offers both teams an opportunity to fine-tune their strategies but also serves as a critical platform to hone their skills ahead of the Women’s T20I World Cup 2024 in October.
Ireland Women have shown commendable progress in recent years, steadily building a reputation as a competitive side. They were recently massively impressive in the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup Qualifier. With the availability of promising players, Ireland will be eager to make a statement in this series. They are set to be led by Laura Delany.
Sri Lanka Women, on the other hand, enter the series with a more established track record, having clinched the Asia Cup 2024 title after beating India Women in the final. However, they will be missing the services of skipper Chamari Athapaththu due to her involvement in the Hundred for Oval. She, meanwhile, will be back for the ODI series. Nonetheless, Sri Lanka will be looking to assert their dominance in this series.
Ireland Women T20 squad: Laura Delany (c), Ava Canning (wk), Christina Coulter Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Gaby Lewis, Jane Maguire, Cara Murray (wk), Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Una Raymond-Hoey, Freya Sargent, Rebecca Stokell (wk)
Sri Lanka Women T20 squad: Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Kawya Kavindi, Sachini Nisansala, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk)