By Sandipan Banerjee in the United Kingdom
The recent outbreak of community unrest in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, has emerged as a point of concern ahead of India’s upcoming two-match T20I series against Ireland, scheduled to be played at the Civil Service Cricket Club on June 26 and 28.
While there is currently no indication that the matches will be moved, both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Ireland are closely monitoring developments on the ground.
The situation has already had an impact on Ireland’s domestic cricket. Cricket Ireland on Wednesday (June 10) called off its Inter-Provincial T20 Festival in Lisburn, following a night of disorder in Belfast on last Tuesday. The three-game tournament involving Northern Knights, North West Warriors and Leinster Lightning was due to be played on Wednesday and Thursday on the suburbs of Belfast.
In a statement, Cricket Ireland said the fixtures would not “proceed as planned due to external factors.”
“The safety and security of our players, coaches and match officials is our most important priority,” the governing body stated.
Cricket Ireland later issued a further update confirming that it remains in consultation with relevant authorities and provincial unions. A decision regarding Sunday’s Irish Senior Cup and National Cup fixtures is expected within the next 48 hours.
“We remain in close consultation with the relevant authorities and our provincial unions. The safety and security of players, coaches, match officials and supporters is paramount in our deliberations,” the statement read.
The developments are also being closely monitored by the BCCI as well. A senior board official told Dainik Jagran that while the board was keeping a close watch on the situation, any decision on the venue would rest with Cricket Ireland.
“We are, of course, monitoring the situation. However, venue allocation on away tours is decided by the host board. So, if Cricket Ireland requests us regarding a change of venue, we will cooperate,” the official said.
India’s T20I squad is expected to arrive in Ireland around June 23, leaving the Irish cricket authorities with limited time to assess the evolving security situation before the series begins.
Sources familiar with the discussions indicated that relocating the matches to Malahide in Dublin would present significant financial and logistical challenges for Cricket Ireland. Belfast has long been earmarked as the host venue for the series, and a late switch would involve considerable additional expenditure.
Meanwhile, those close to the developments also acknowledge that if the unrest continues or escalates in the coming days, Cricket Ireland may be forced to consider alternative arrangements given the financial significance of the series for Irish cricket.
Another possibility could be staging the matches in England, an option Cricket Ireland has turned to for its ‘home’ international fixtures in the past.
However, with England men’s bilateral commitments and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup occupying many of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s premier venues during the period, suitable alternatives are limited. As things stand, Cricket Ireland has few viable contingency options should a venue change become necessary.
For now, both boards are awaiting further assessments from local authorities before taking any decision on the fate of the matches.
The series has also generated significant interest following the maiden India call-up of 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is in line to become one of the youngest players to represent the country at the international level.
India T20I squad vs Ireland: Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
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