Balbirnie rested for Bangladesh T20Is; Stirling to lead in his absence

Ireland have rested their regular captain Andy Balbirnie for the T20I series against Bangladesh. Paul Stirling, Balbirnie's deputy, will lead the side, while Lorcan Tucker will be the new vice-captain.

"Andrew was due to take a break from the ODI series against Sri Lanka next month to concentrate on preparation for the upcoming Tests and the all-important World Cup Super League series in May," head coach Heinrich Malan said. "With the Sri Lankan ODI series now being converted to a second Test Match, he will now be rested from this T20I series instead.

"We flagged before the tour that there may be an element of player rotation this year due to the anticipated volume of cricket we will be playing. I see it as an essential part of squad and player management that we give our leading players adequate downtime for their physical and mental health. Such rotation also allows us to broaden the talent pool by enabling a wider group of players first team opportunities."

Stirling has previously captained Ireland in six T20Is - all in 2019. Of those six, Ireland won two and lost four.

This has been a difficult tour so far for the visitors, who lost the ODI series 2-0, with Bangladesh recording their biggest wins in terms of runs and wickets in those two games. The abandoned second ODI saw the home side notch up their highest ODI total.

The T20Is are on March 27, 29 and 31 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. All matches start at 2.00pm local time.