Cricket Ireland has confirmed that Ireland Men’s head coach Graham Ford will miss the upcoming T20 International series in India.
Assistant coach Rob Cassell will be the acting head coach for the series against Afghanistan next month.
Ford slipped in his home over a week ago and suffered a fractured vertebrae and three broken ribs before flying to South Africa to join up with the Ireland Wolves squad in South Africa.
It was only after attending a local doctor in Pretoria that he discovered the full extent of the injury.
Ford has undergone further medical assessment since his return and has now been advised to stay in Dublin to rehabilitate.
With Cassell stepping up from his assistant role, another coach will be added to the support staff in the coming days.
Cricket Ireland has made one amendment to the itinerary for the tour with all three matches of the series now starting at 2pm (local time) or 8.30am (Irish time), with the first game no longer under lights.
The change has been brought about due to unseasonal dew at night in the region.
Cricket Ireland is concurrently taking advice from Government, Health and Sporting Bodies on travel to Asia during the current CoronaVirus outbreak.
Their press release today reads: "While a duty of care approach to players' health will be maintained, there is currently no advisory against travelling to northern India.
"However, Cricket Ireland will continue to monitor the situation."
The Afghan Series
The fixtures will be played at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh in India – the matches being:
• Friday 6 March 2020 (start 2pm, local time)
• Sunday 8 March 2020 (start at 2pm, local time)
• Tuesday 10 March 2020 (start at 2pm, local time)
The only change from the T20I squad that travelled to the Caribbean in January is Shane Getkate coming in for Mark Adair. Adair has been left out of the squad to work on his fitness and conditioning, as well as to manage an ongoing ankle injury.
The 14-player squad:
Andrew Balbirnie (Captain), Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young.
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