Seven home matches have been cancelled, but Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom says it’s for financial reasons, not political ones.
Ireland has decided to cancel the planned home series against Afghanistan this year due to ‘financial reasons’. This decision comes amidst a busy summer schedule that already includes significant tours from the England Men’s T20I team and Zimbabwe Women.
Cricket Ireland announced their international schedule on Tuesday, which includes Women’s 50-over World Cup Qualifying matches against Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Scotland from April 9-18.
The schedule also includes warm-up matches for Ireland Women against West Indies and Bangladesh in Pakistan on April 5 and 7, ahead of their attempt to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2005. However, the ICC has yet to confirm the dates and locations for the Qualifiers.
Ireland Men are set to host West Indies for ODI and T20I series in May and June, respectively. Additionally, England Men will play their first-ever T20I series in Ireland in September, consisting of three matches.
According to the Men’s Future Tours Program (FTP), Ireland was supposed to play a Test match against Afghanistan, along with three ODIs and three T20Is. However, all seven matches have been cancelled. While this follows similar decisions by Australia and England to avoid bilateral series with Afghanistan, Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom clarified that the cancellation was due to financial reasons, not political ones. Earlier in the week, Human Rights Watch had urged the ICC to suspend Afghanistan’s membership due to human rights concerns.
‘One planned series that will not proceed for financial reasons is the one against Afghanistan,’ Deutrom stated. ‘This decision is part of our strategy to manage short-term budget limitations and to meet the Board’s requirement for balanced investment across the organization’s strategic goals.’
Since becoming Full Members of the ICC in 2017, Ireland has hosted only two of the ten Test matches they have played. They achieved their first Test victory against Afghanistan in the UAE in 2024 and went on to win two more Tests against Zimbabwe, at home last year and away last month.
Last year, Ireland hosted a ‘home’ white-ball series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi to overcome ‘current infrastructure constraints,’ as Deutrom described it at the time, referring to the lack of a permanent home stadium and the high costs of temporary facilities.
In August, the Irish Government approved the development of a permanent international cricket stadium and high-performance center in Dublin. The first phase, including a main cricket oval, permanent seating for 4,000 spectators, and the high-performance center, is expected to be completed in 2028, with the aim of preparing Ireland to co-host the 2030 T20 World Cup with England and Scotland.
‘Off the field, recent Government announcements will allow us to continue planning for the new Dublin stadium and the 2030 T20 World Cup. We are also looking forward to announcing investments in infrastructure and facilities across Ireland as part of our expanded Club Fund,’ Deutrom added.
Ireland Wolves will play Afghanistan A in four-day and one-day matches in Abu Dhabi next month as part of a tour that also includes a white-ball tri-series with Sri Lanka A.
Ireland Men will also participate in the European T20 Premier League with Scotland and the Netherlands starting in mid-July.
Zimbabwe Women are scheduled to tour Ireland in July, marking their first tour since being included in the Women’s FTP for 2025-29. They will play three T20Is followed by two ODIs.
Pakistan Women will then visit Ireland in August for three T20s before the T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in the Netherlands, where Ireland Women will compete.
