ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Ireland, Scotland name squads for showpiece event

Ireland and Scotland have announced squads for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021

Bengaluru, September 10: Ireland and Scotland on Thursday (September 9) announced their provisional squads for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which is set to take place in UAE and Oman.

Both nations will be part of the eight-team Round 1 group stages, scheduled to start from October 17. Ireland are paired in Group A along with 2014 Champions Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Namibia, while Scotland have been drawn with Bangladesh, Oman and Papua New Guinea in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will make it to the Round 2 - the Super 12s, where they will face the top eight teams of the tournament - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia, New Zealand, ireland, England and South Africa.

Ireland named uncapped spin-bowling all-rounder, Graham Kennedy in the 18-player provisional squad that will be refined to 15 core players plus three (travelling) reserves in early October in line with ICC tournament registration dates. Andrew Balbrine is set to lead the team.

Scotland, meanwhile, named Kyle Coetzer as captain of the squad, which includes a number of hugely experienced players including Richie Berrington, Calum Macleod, Safyaan Sharif, Matthew Cross and Ally Evans who have more than 1000 caps for Scotland between them.

Scotland also made an addition to the coaching team, which includes assistant coach and fast-bowling expert Craig Wright and spin bowling coach Chris Brown, with the inclusion of former England batter Jonathan Trott as batting lead.

Scotland will start their campaign against Bangladesh on October 17 followed by Papua New Guinea on October 19 and Oman on October 21 with all their matches taking place in Al Amerat in Muscat.

Ireland, on the other hand, will begin their Round 1 Group A campaign against Netherlands on October 18 followed by Sri Lanka on October 20 and Namibia on October 22. The Irish will play their first two matches in Abu Dhabi and their last match in Sharjah.

Ireland T20 World Cup 2021 squad: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O'Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young

Scotland T20 World Cup 2021 squad: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richard Berrington (vice captain), Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wicketkeeper), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace (wicketkeeper), Mark Watt, Brad Wheal