Ireland suffer major blow, captain Paul Stirling ruled out of remainder of T20 WC due to injury

Ireland suffered a major blow on Friday as their captain Paul Stirling has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20 World Cup after suffering ligament damage to his knee, ahead of their group match against Oman. Stirling hurt his right knee when completing a catch during Ireland's 67-run loss to Australia here on Wednesday and the experienced captain aggravated it once again when he went for a quick single when returning to the crease to bat in the same match. The T20 World Cup Event Technical Committee have approved a replacement player for Stirling, with uncapped youngster Sam Topping joining Ireland's 15-player squad with immediate effect. Ireland will face Oman in their Group B match here on Saturday. Topping is a left-handed opening batter who last year featured for Ireland A in their four-day match against Afghanistan A in Abu Dhabi. ''Topping was named as a replacement when Stirling was ruled out after sustaining knee ligament damage while fielding during Ireland's match against Australia on 11 February,'' 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, though he has high hopes for Topping as a replacement. ''Paul Stirling underwent an assessment and a scan after the Australian match which has subsequently revealed ligament damage – as such, he has been ruled out of the remainder 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 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.''