Matthew Foster in line for debut as Ireland name squads for Afghanistan series

Matthew Foster could make his international debut across formats later this month, after being named in Ireland's Test and white-ball squads for their multi-format series against Afghanistan. Encourage, a 24-year-old speed bowler who addresses Northern Knights and CSNI in Ireland's homegrown rivalries, is one of four uncapped players in a much-changed Test crew from the one that confronted Afghanistan in 2019. Barry McCarthy, Theo van Woerkom and Craig Youthful are additionally in dispute for debuts when the oddball Test starts off in Abu Dhabi on February 28, for which Andrew Balbirnie will go on as skipper. Three ODIs and three T20Is will then continue in Sharjah between Walk 7 and 18, with Paul Stirling - Balbirnie's white-ball replacement, who last year became one of just 25 players to score hundred years across every one of the three configurations - set to lead in both series. In the wake of accomplishing a decisive victory of their ODI and T20I series in Zimbabwe in December, Ireland went through an instructional course in Spain last week, and will fly out to the UAE five days in front of the Test to adjust. "We have played a ton of cricket over the course of the past ten years in this region of the planet, so the circumstances ought to be fairly natural to the players - yet, dominatingly in the white ball designs," Andrew White, Ireland's selector, said. "While there has been a 12-week hole, the crew ought to convey a few certainty and force into this series from the effective visit through Zimbabwe in December." Just five individuals from the Test crew highlighted in Ireland's seven-wicket rout in Dehradun in 2019, with White recognizing that they had gone through "a tremendous change" across designs since that last multi-design visit. "This series is a urgent one in our arrangements in front of a major summer, which incorporates the T20 World Cup," he said. "This is consistently a profoundly expected challenge and I would anticipate that this should be a hard-battled series - one I'm a lot of anticipating." Test squad: Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young. ODI squad: Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Matthew Foster, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Paul Stirling (capt), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young. T20I squad: Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Paul Stirling (capt), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.