Colombo, February 13 Ireland suffered a significant setback on Friday when their captain, Paul Stirling, was ruled out of the remaining part of the T20 World Cup after sustaining ligament damage to his knee, ahead of their group match against Oman.
Stirling injured his right knee while completing a catch during Ireland's 67-run loss to Australia here on Wednesday, and the experienced captain further aggravated it when he attempted a quick single while returning to the crease to bat in the same match.
The T20 World Cup event technical committee has approved a replacement player for Stirling, with the un-capped youngster, Sam Topping, joining Ireland's 15-player squad immediately.
Ireland will face Oman in their Group B match here on Saturday.
Topping is a left-handed opening batsman who last year played for Ireland A in their four-day match against Afghanistan A in Abu Dhabi.
"Topping was named as a replacement after Stirling was ruled out due to sustaining ligament damage while fielding during Ireland's match against Australia on February 11," the ICC said in a statement.
Ireland's Director of High Performance, Graeme West, said it was a bitter blow to lose Stirling's experience, although he has high hopes for Topping as a replacement.
"Paul Stirling underwent an assessment and a scan after the match against Australia, which subsequently revealed ligament damage, and as such, he has been ruled out of the remaining part of the T20 World Cup. Paul will shortly return home for rest and rehabilitation, ahead of the home summer," West said.
"To replace Paul, we have called up Sam Topping, who is able to provide immediate cover as he is just a short flight away in Chennai. Sam has been with the Northern Knights training squad and has been playing and training in similar conditions to Sri Lanka."
"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,"
