For some, there were a few concerns regarding the security in Belfast, Ireland, ahead of the IND vs IRE T20I series. The entire scenario had emerged due to the violent anti-immigrant protests in the region, after a knife attack on a local. The same had put some question marks on the series too. But Cricket Ireland has confirmed on Sunday, that the series will go ahead as planned.
Cricket Ireland to proceed with IND vs IRE series
The two matches will take place on June 26, and June 28 in Stormont, after a detailed security evaluation in the area. A report in Cricbuzz confirmed that the CI also engaged with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) following the protests. “The safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in the series remains our highest priority. We continue to work closely with the PSNI, venue management and security partners, and are satisfied that the appropriate measures are in place to ensure the safe and successful staging of both fixtures,” CI was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Further, the current assessment does not indicate of any threat to the participating teams, the officials, or even the spectators at the venue. Plus, there is no report or intelligence of protests or demonstrations, that could affect the match. “Accordingly, both Ireland v India T20 International matches at Stormont on 26 and 28 June will proceed as planned,” CI said.
No security issues in Belfast
Further, the CI advised the fans attending the match, to keep following the CI channels for any updates. “We will continue to work closely with all relevant agencies and monitor developments in the lead-up to the fixtures.
“Supporters attending the matches are encouraged to follow official Cricket Ireland channels for any event updates and to allow additional travel time where necessary. We look forward to welcoming fans from Ireland, India and around the world to Belfast for what promises to be a memorable celebration of international cricket.”
Meanwhile, the Indian team is scheduled to fly to Belfast via London, on June 23. The squad for the series was announced recently, that also includes 15-year-old wonderkid from Bihar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. This will also be the first series, where Shreyas Iyer takes over as the full-time T20I skipper from Suryakumar Yadav.
IND squad: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prasidh Krishna.
