Ireland's Paul Stirling limps hurt during the T20 World Cup group game against Australia in Colombo on Wednesday. Photo: Viraj Kothalawala/SportsfilePaul Stirling has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup with a knee ligament injury and will fly home from Colombo to begin his recovery program. The Ireland captain landed awkwardly on hard ground after taking a diving catch against Australia on Wednesday night and with scans showing more serious damage than was first thought, he has been replaced by Antrim-born left-hander Sam Topping. “Sam has been with the Northern Knights training squad in Chennai and has been playing and training in similar conditions to Sri Lanka,” Graeme West, the Cricket Ireland high performance director, said. Zimbabwe’s shock victory over Australia earlier today keeps alive Ireland’s faint hope of reaching the last eight but the Boys in Green will have to win both their final games and massively improve their nett run-rate in doing so.

Source: Irish Independent February 13, 2026 13:32 UTC