Sarah Keane, who recently took over as CI’s chief executive, said that the board has extended an invitation to the exiled Afghanistan women’s team to play fixtures in Ireland, while defending the decision to host the men’s team.
“Cricket Ireland has made a decision to play Afghanistan in Belfast this year,” Keane said on Friday. “I’m not going to fob you off by saying that there’s financial reasons and there’s legal reasons. There aren’t. This has been a decision by Cricket Ireland in what it believes is the best interest of the organisation as a whole, and the decision was made by the board this week.
“I want to acknowledge up front the moral discomfort that I think we all sit with around this decision and are clear abhorrence of how the regime treats women in particular, but we also see it very much as an opportunity to reference the Afghan women’s team, the displaced team.
“We didn’t just invite the Afghan men to come here. We’ve also invited the Afghan women’s team to come here, and we’re in discussions around how that might happen. Scheduling would be a problem for this year, but it’s really important that they don’t fall off the agenda because if you decide not to play and you decide not to talk about it, then they’re not on the agenda.
“We need the plight of the Afghan women’s team to be very much on the agenda. They need to be supported and a lot of work has been done by the ICC and others to put a fund together to try and support them.”
Keane, who recently joined CI from Swim Ireland, said that the board’s view had been informed in part by a recent softening within the Olympic movement towards Russian athletes. “The general global principle across all international sports at this point is that athletes and players be treated differently from their government,” she said.
Ireland’s men were also due to play Bangladesh this summer, but the tour was scrapped due to logistical and financial constraints, while Afghanistan’s multi-format tour was changed into a five-match ODI series. Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s Test captain, wrote on Instagram: “Won’t lie, very disappointed to only have 8 home games this international summer.”
The New Zealand fixture in May will be only Ireland’s third home men’s Test, and the first between the two countries. Ireland will prepare for it with a four-day “best vs best” warm-up match at Malahide, while New Zealand – who will then play three Tests in England – may be without some key players depending on their respective teams’ progress in the IPL.
India’s brief tour – a stopover on their way to England for eight white-ball matches – will be staged at the Civil Service Cricket Club Ground in Stormont, Belfast. Brian MacNeice, Cricket Ireland’s chair, said that their primary home venue in Malahide, Dublin, was unavailable due to “a whole pile of logistical and organisational reasons” including nearby concerts.
Ireland also announced a planned men’s tour to Pakistan early next year, including a Test match, and anticipate playing the 50-over World Cup and Olympic Games qualification events in the 2027 summer.
Ireland international fixtures, 2026 season
Men’s fixtures:
May 27-30: Test match vs New Zealand (Stormont)
June 26 and 28: T20Is vs India (both Stormont)
August 5, 7, 10, 12 and 14: ODIs vs Afghanistan (first two Bready, last three Stormont)
Women’s fixtures:
May 28-June 4: T20I tri-series vs West Indies and Pakistan (Clontarf)
June 12-July 5: Women’s T20 World Cup (England)
July 10, 12 and 15: ODIs vs West Indies (Bready)
September 1, 3 and 6: ODIs vs England (England)
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
