Paul Stirling to join Ireland Test squad for Sri Lanka tour

Ireland batter Paul Stirling will join the Ireland Test squad in Sri Lanka and will be available for the second Test. The top-order batter returned to Ireland from Bangladesh following the conclusion of the white-ball series and will miss the one-off Test against Bangladesh, which will be played from April 4 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

Ireland's tour to Sri Lanka was originally scheduled to include a Test and two ODIs. However, the hosts wanted more red-ball matches and it resulted in the two ODIs being replaced by a Test. Both the Tests will be played in Galle between April 16 to April 28. 

Stirling was originally set to join the squad in Sri Lanka for the ODI series, according to Cricket Ireland's national men's selector Andrew White. He added that now that the fixtures have been converted to Test matches and the Bangladesh T20I series in Ireland has been postponed, he will focus more on red-ball cricket and will join the Test squad for the second Test. Notably, Stirling previously stated that he chose to skip Ireland's Test commitments this year to give himself a chance to rest amid a "jam-packed" 2023 schedule.

"Paul was originally set to join the squad in Sri Lanka for the ODI series that was originally planned. However, with those fixtures now converted to a Test match, and the scheduled Bangladesh T20I series in Ireland postponed, he will now have a greater focus on red-ball cricket and will join the Test squad for that second Test," White said in a statement.

Stirling is one of Ireland's busiest cricketers, competing in various short-format franchise leagues around the world. He has played in all three Tests Ireland has played so far all are in 2018 and 2019. His presence will undoubtedly add a lot of experience to Ireland's starting lineup.

Ireland Squad for Sri Lanka series

Andrew Balbirnie (C), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Murray Commins, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Tom Mayes, Andrew McBrine, James McCollum, Paul Stirling*, PJ Moor, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White