KEY POINTS
- Fixtures are 5 and 7 August in Bready; 10, 12 and 15 August in Stormont – matches start at 10.45am
- Ireland Men and Afghanistan Men last played at Stormont in a T20I series in 2022. The sides last met in Bready for a T20I series in 2018.
- Paul Stirling returns from injury to lead the side while Byron McDonough, Jai Moondra and Ben Calitz all get the opportunity to debut in the format
The Afghanistan Men’s cricket team returns to Ireland four years after their last visit and will play five One-Day Internationals against Ireland Men at Bready in Derry/Londonderry on 5 and 7 August and Stormont in Belfast on 10, 12 and 15 August 2026.
The two sides have met frequently over the years and were made Full Members on the same day in 2017. They have faced each other over 50 times and have an ongoing rivalry in all three formats. In the ODI format, though, Afghanistan have the edge over Ireland, winning the last five matches the two teams have played against each other in the format.
While Paul Stirling’s side has a relatively settled batting unit, a number of front-line seamers are unavailable for selection due to injury or return to play protocols. The player of the recent T20I series against India, Jai Moondra, receives his first call-up for One-Day International duty, while 24-year-old pace bowler Byron McDonough is called up to the senior side for the first time. Middle-order left-handed batter Ben Calitz also gets his first chance to make it into the final XI for the ODI side. This will be former international Gary Wilson’s first series in charge after Heinrich Malan stepped down recently.
THE RECENT RECORDS
- The Ireland Men’s ODI squad is currently ranked 12th in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings list – the team has played no ODIs in 2026 so far. The Men in Green were last in ODI action in May 2025 when they lost a three-match series 2-1 to West Indies.
- The Afghanistan Men’s ODI team is currently ranked 8th in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings list – the team has played three ODIs in 2026, losing all three to India in a series they contested in India in June.
IRELAND MEN’S SQUAD
- Paul Stirling (c)
- Mark Adair
- Andrew Balbirnie
- Ben Calitz
- Curtis Campher
- Cade Carmichael
- George Dockrell
- Gavin Hoey
- Andrew McBrine
- Liam McCarthy
- Byron McDonough
- Jai Moondra
- Harry Tector
- Lorcan Tucker
AFGHANISTAN MEN’S SQUAD
- Rahmat Shah (c)
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Ibrahim Zadran
- Sediqullah Atal
- Hashmatullah Shahidi
- Darwish Rasooli
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Ikram Alikhil
- Nangyal Kharoti
- Rashid Khan
- AM Ghazanfar
- Yamin Ahmadzai
- Saleem Safi
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi
FIXTURES
Sigenergy Ireland v Afghanistan ODI Series
- 5 August 2026: Ireland Men v Afghanistan Men – ODI (Bready; starts 10.45am)
- 7 August 2026: Ireland Men v Afghanistan Men – ODI (Bready; starts 10.45am)
- 10 August 2026: Ireland Men v Afghanistan Men – ODI (Stormont; starts 10.45am)
- 12 August 2026: Ireland Men v Afghanistan Men – ODI (Stormont; starts 10.45am)
- 15 August 2026: Ireland Men v Afghanistan Men – ODI (Stormont; starts 10.45am)
HOW TO WATCH, FOLLOW OR ATTEND
- In Ireland / UK, every match will be streamed on YouTube
- Rest of the world:
- Cricbuzz (North America, South East Asia, Middle East, North Africa)
- Fancode (India)
- Tapmad (Pakistan)
- Ariana Television (Afghanistan)
Follow:
- You can see all the match scores via www.cricketireland.ie
