Cricket Ireland (CI) is in talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for touring the country before their English tour next summer. The Indian team, which is slated for a visit to England for five T20Is and three ODIs from July 1–19 next year, could play a brief series in Ireland if the talks between the two boards bear fruit.
Brian MacNeice, CI’s chair, confirmed the news to the Irish team following the washout of the second T20I against England in Malahide. This is the fourth game of their already short home summer schedule, which had only nine games, to be abandoned because of the rain. Paul Stirling, Ireland’s captain, expressed his disappointment with playing so few games at home, which had his team “underprepared” to face big teams like England.
“I opened the meeting by saying, as far as I’m concerned, the quantum of cricket that we’re playing in ’25 isn’t good enough to prepare you guys to play international cricket and to be competitive at ICC tournaments,” MacNeice said. “I’m not hiding from that.
“We mapped out our views and thoughts on what the schedule for ’26 and ’27 looks like, and I wanted to get their input not just on the international schedule, but also the domestic schedule… It was a really positive session yesterday. There’s more work to be done, honestly, but it was a good session.”
Besides England, Ireland this summer have only hosted West Indies, which unsurprisingly did not help them bag any lucrative broadcast deals. This, in addition to the costs used to convert club grounds into international venues, has left the board handicapped to bring in bigger teams for tours. This is also why the side was unable to stage any red-ball game at home.
“[The players] understand the challenges that we’re facing and some of the reasons why we had what we had, but they also are very clear about what we’re trying to achieve. I think they’re fully bought into that,” MacNeice said.
The CI chair is hopeful to also have a few Tests next summer, though the details about the schedule largely remain uncertain. According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, New Zealand (one Test), Bangladesh (three ODIs and three T20Is) and Afghanistan (one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is) are all due to visit Ireland next summer.
“There are still a couple of variables that have to be figured out before we lock in the final schedule, but we’ll be hosting Test cricket here next year,” MacNeice said.
MacNeice also confirmed that he has held meetings with ECB officials with respect to co-hosting the 2030 T20 World Cup with England and Scotland. He also said that Ireland’s Abbotstown Stadium, being constructed on the outskirts of Dublin and central to hosting the World Cup, is “very much on track”.
Ireland aren’t a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, but MacNeice hopes that the idea of a two-tier WTC model could benefit the country in the longest format.
