Ireland draw India and Pakistan at T20 World Cup

Ireland will play India, Pakistan, USA and Canada in Group A at this summer's ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

While the tournament will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States, all of Ireland's group matches will be played on US soil, with two matches scheduled for New York and two matches set to take place in Florida.

The top two teams in each of the five groups will advance to the Super 8 stage, comprising of two groups of four, aheads of semi-finals and the final, which will be contested in Barbados on 29 June.

Ireland qualified for the tournament for the eighth time last July by virtue of of their second-place finish behind Scotland in their regional final group.

Reflecting on the the draw, Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan said: To be drawn in a group that includes India and Pakistan is a tantalising prospect and should attract big crowds, while also to face one of the co-hosts on their home soil adds some spice, and Canada have a proven pedigree in this format so will be a challenging encounter as well.

"It may be a cliche to say that no match at a World Cup is easy, but the group we have been drawn in absolutely exemplifies that saying.

"One secret weapon we may have up our sleeve, however, is an enormous Irish ex-pat population in the US, and we absolutely call on the members of the Irish diaspora in the US to put on their green and come out to support our lads."

Ireland group stage fixtures:

5 June - India v Ireland (New York; 10am start)

7 June - Ireland v Canada (New York; 10am start)

14 June - USA v Ireland (Florida; 10am start)

16 June - Ireland v Pakistan (Florida; 10am start)

Groups:

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, USA, Canada

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

Group C: New Zealand, West