Ireland T20 World Cup 2026 SWOT Analysis: Can Paul Stirling and co cause a stir in Group B?

Ireland start their T20 World Cup vs Sri Lanka in Colombo [Source: AFP Photos]

Ireland are set and ready to head into their 9th T20 World Cup after earning direct qualification to the competition based on their T20I rankings and avoiding the regional qualifiers.

Before becoming an ICC full member nation in 2017, they were one of the most consistent associate nations to feature in the big multi-nation tournaments and toppling top oppositions as well.

Their skipper, Paul Stirling, is one of only three players from across the 20-team roster who featured in the 2009 edition of the tournament in England and continues to go strong at 35. He will also have someone like George Dockrell at his disposal, who was part of their 2011 World Cup squad that travelled to India and carries loads of experience.

Ahead of the tournament, they faced Italy and the UAE in Dubai and won 4 of the five matches, heading to Sri Lanka high on confidence. Their only warm-up match against Pakistan got washed out, meaning they start the tournament without a match played in India or Sri Lanka.

Now, they have been grouped alongside co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Oman in Group B and start their campaign on February 8 in Colombo.

Here’s what their group stage schedule looks like:

• February 8: Ireland vs Sri Lanka, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
• February 11: Ireland vs Australia, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
• February 14: Ireland vs Oman, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.
• February 17: Ireland vs Zimbabwe, Pallekele International Stadium, Pallekele.

Ireland squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Tim Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Strengths of Ireland:

1. Experienced core-group

Led by Paul Stirling, who has played 161 T20Is in his career, scoring 3888 runs, their first-choice XI has a lot of T20I experience. George Dockrell has played 154 matches, Mark Adair has 97 T20I caps, Harry Tector has 95, 88 matches each for Gareth Delany and Lorcan Tucker. All these players have also previously featured in T20 World Cups.

2. Explosive finishers

Their lower-middle order thrives in the last five overs of the innings. Since the start of 2025, Ben Calitz (154.5), Dockrell (172), Tucker (171), and Curtis Campher (147.4) all have high strike rates in T20 cricket. They are capable of giving the team a cushion of 20-25 extra runs or complete crunch run-chases.

3. All-rounder depth

A crucial factor in the Irish doing well in recent years is the number of all-rounders in their first-choice playing XI. They bat deep till 8 and have several bowling options in case any bowler has a bad day, or Stirling wants to try out something different.

Dockrell, Mark Adair, Gareth Delany and Campher are all multi-faceted players. Dockrell bowling again gives them a big advantage to help fit in Ben Calitz’s power in the middle-order as the left-arm spinner, and Delany can operate in the middle overs with their spin in Sri Lanka.

Weaknesses of Ireland

1. Low strike-rates against quality spin

Stirling is an experienced campaigner and has a T20 career strike rate of over 141 against spin, alongside Calitz, who only recently debuted for them and strikes at over 159. However, the rest of the batting line-up is susceptible to quality spin bowlers.

Only Dockrell (122) and Delany (127) are the other two who have batted at over 120. Campher (114), Harry Tector (117) and Tucker (116) all tend to get stuck in the middle when a spinner is on the attack. This could lead to their demise in Sri Lankan conditions.

2. Death bowling

Since the last T20 World Cup, Ireland lead pacer Mark Adair has gone at an economy rate of 10 runs per over in the death overs in all T20 cricket. The overall economy of the first choice pace attack averages around 9 runs per over, which they will look to improve in tight matches against top quality oppositions at the world event.

3. Lack of left-handed batters

While they are an experienced batting unit and can do the job on most days, they lack the presence of left-handed batters in the top-7. Apart from the 23-year-old Ben Calitz, none of the players in the 15-man squad is a left-hander. Good oppositions can plan well against such a one-dimensional batting order; hence, how they use Calitz becomes crucial for them.

Opportunities for Ireland

1. Upset potential

Throughout their history in 50 or 20 overs World Cups, Ireland have caused upsets against top-ranked oppositions time-to-time. With three other Test-playing nations in their group, including the hosts Sri Lanka, who lost their recent England series 0-3 and injury-laden Australia, they will fancy their chances to get the better of them in the tournament.

2. Breakout tournament for Calitz

In just a 24-T20 match career, Ben Calitz has shown glimpses of his power hitting late during his team’s batting and struck at a rate of 144 to get 377 runs. He has an impressive SR of 245 in T10 cricket, which shows his ability to go all guns blazing in the format. He can be among the players to watch out for from the Irish camp.

Threats to Ireland

1. Tough group

On paper, Ireland looks like a formidable unit, which can cause upsets on their good days. However, with two of the four teams in the group ranked higher, alongside Zimbabwe, who are at par with them, it would not be an easy task for them to come out of this group’s top-2. If things go south, they can very well finish 4th or 5th.

2. Rain threat

Both Colombo and Pallekele are venues where rain can affect any game, as it did in their warm-up fixture against Pakistan. Hence, there will be a lot of uncertainty around some of their fixtures. Rain can derail their competition, and they would be left with no solutions to it.

Ireland's probable playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026

Paul Stirling (c), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Ben Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys.

Expected finish: Group stage (close 3rd)