Ireland suffered a big blow during the T20 World Cup 2026, captain Paul Stirling out of the tournament.

Sam Topping replaces Paul Stirling: Ireland’s journey in the T20 World Cup 2026 has not been good so far. Ireland has lost the first two matches. Now after that Ireland has suffered another big blow. Ireland captain Paul Stirling has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to injury.

Paul Sterling was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with ligament damage in his right knee. The injury occurred before the Group B match against Oman. Stirling suffered the injury during Wednesday’s 67-run defeat to Australia, when he injured his knee attempting a catch. Later, his injury got worse while trying to take a quick single while batting.

Sam Topping was included

The T20 World Cup Event Technical Committee has approved the inclusion of uncapped young player Sam Topping in the squad in place of Paul Sterling. Topping is a left-handed opening batsman and played a four-day match for Ireland A against Afghanistan A in Abu Dhabi last year.

Ireland’s High Performance Director Graeme West said, “Stirling was scanned and assessed, which revealed a ligament injury. Therefore, he has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the T20 World Cup. Sam Topping has been called in his place, who can provide cover in many important areas of the squad. His potential will prove to be helpful to the team.”

Ireland will face Oman on Saturday

Ireland will take on Oman in their Group B match on Saturday. Sterling will now return home to rest and rehabilitate, while Topping has been included in the squad immediately. This change may affect Ireland’s strategy, but the presence of young Topping can add new energy and options to the team. This knee injury and the entry of a young player has given a new twist to Ireland’s campaign in the tournament.

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Ireland’s updated team for T20 World Cup

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