Ireland coach Heinrich Malan signs two-year contract extension ahead of T20 World Cup

The 43-year-old's new agreement will see him remain in chargu as his side look to qualify for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, with the result of that campaign set to be settled before Malan's new deal expires.

Malan, who initially agreed a three-year stay in January 2022, is preparing to lead Ireland at the T20 World Cup in America, where Ireland first take on Sri Lanka in a Friday warm-up before their June 5th tournament opener against England.

He said: "This work has borne fruit in two successful T20 World Cup qualifying campaigns and in our recent Test success.

"But we are all conscious that we've missed out on playing in the last two 50-over World Cups, and qualification for the 2027 tournament will be one of the focus areas across the next three years."

Richard Holdsworth, high performance director of Cricket Ireland, said: "Quite honestly, it was a very straightforward decision to extend Heinrich's contract.

"Over the last 18 months or so, the team has improved significantly in the T20 format which was our weakest format.

"With new leadership in white-ball cricket, the relationship between Heinrich and the two captains has been key.

"This goes from strength-to-strength and we now have a key focus on strategic planning towards the 2027 Cricket World Cup in mind. I look forward to seeing what the next three years brings."