Ireland Women are set to play their first-ever bilateral series in India

Ireland Women will be touring India later this year, with the Laura Delany-led side set to play three ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals against Harmanpreet Kaur’s team.

This will mark the first time an Irish side, men or women, will visit India for a bilateral tour.

The Irish men’s team participated in the 2011 World Cup in India but never for a bilateral series.

According to information from Cricket Ireland officials at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island, New York, where the Ireland men were involved in a Twenty20 World Cup game against Canada, the Irish women will arrive in India on December 30 and stay for two weeks.

All six games will be played in January, with venues yet to be finalized.

The ODIs will be part of the 2022-2025 ICC Women’s ODI Championship, contested among 10 teams to determine qualification for the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup in India.

“Hopefully, we will be there in India in 2025,” said an Irish Cricket official.

As per the latest ICC rankings, India is No. 5 in ODIs and Ireland is No. 11.

In the T20I rankings, the Indian women are No. 3 and the Ed Joyce-coached Irish women are No. 10.

While the Indian men’s side occasionally tours Dublin for short series, and might do so again in 2025, the presence of Irish cricket in India has been rare.

Apart from Josh Little, no Irish cricketer has ever played in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

No Irish woman cricketer has been picked by a Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchise, although there are high hopes in Ireland that Amy Hunter, the youngest woman cricketer to score an international century at age 16, could attract interest from WPL franchises.

Jay Shelat, the Irish women’s team’s performance analyst, was part of the Luke Williams-led coaching staff of RCB’s triumphant women’s team.

There are also hopes within the Irish cricket system that this first bilateral tour to India will encourage WPL teams to consider Irish women players.

For the record, India and Ireland women have played in six bilateral series, all outside India, with India winning all of them, the last one being in 2012.