Ireland captain Paul Stirling has been ruled out of the rest of the T20 World Cup because of a knee injury.
Stirling landed on his knee after taking a catch against Australia in Colombo on Wednesday and, while he batted in his usual position of opener in the chase, he limped his first single and retired hurt.
A scan after Ireland’s 67-run defeat showed ligament damage and Stirling has been replaced in the squad by fellow opener Sam Topping, who is nearby in Chennai, India, in an off-season training camp, while wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker will captain the side for the rest of the tournament.
“Paul will shortly return home for rest and rehabilitation, ahead of the home summer,” Graeme West, director of high performance at Cricket Ireland, said.
“To replace Paul, we have called up Sam Topping, who is able to provide immediate cover. The skill set he offers provides cover across a number of areas within the squad, which is important as Ben Calitz is also carrying a knock to his hand after the last match.”
Ireland play Oman on Sunday and Zimbabwe next Wednesday in their remaining Group B games, with the top two advancing to the Super 8s stage.
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