Cricket Ireland monitoring India-Pakistan tensions ahead of Afghanistan ODI series

Stuart Thompson has been added to the Ireland ODI squad as cover

Cricket Ireland says it is monitoring the security situation between India and Pakistan in advance of their ODI series against Afghanistan.

The Irish squad is based in the Indian province of Dehradun, not far from Kashmir which has seen an increase in tensions between the two countries.

Cricket Ireland say it will comply with official advice to ensure the safety of their players and the team management.

Ireland's opening ODI against Afghanistan takes place on Thursday.

In a statement, Cricket Ireland said it is: "actively monitoring the current security situation between India and Pakistan.

"Management is liaising with the squad, and engaging with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, ICC, Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

"Preparations are currently continuing in advance of the upcoming ODI series, however Cricket Ireland will comply with any official advice over coming days in order to ensure the safety and security of players and team management."

As they continue preparations for the opening match of the five-game ODI series, all-rounder Stuart Thompson has been added to Ireland's one-day squad.

The 27-year-old is already in India, having been named in Ireland's T20 and Test squads but will also provide cover for the one-day panel.

Opener William Porterfield, who has stepped down from the role as T20 captain to concentrate on leading the team in the ODI and Test formats, is one of the players who is expected to come into contention for the series opener on Thursday following a 3-0 defeat by Afghanistan in their T20 series last week.

"There's a few of us coming into the squad, five of us who have been here for a week and that helps freshen things up from that side," said Porterfield.

"Afghanistan are a tough team in T20 cricket, but we're together and fresh for the one-day series and looking forward to it.

"Over the last few matches we played some good cricket at various stages in the game - Afghanistan are a strong T20 side and there were a couple of good match-winning performances from a couple of their lads, which is what it's about in T20 cricket.

"If an individual comes off like that it can be hard to stop the momentum, but our lads had some good performances, and it was good to sit down and chat with Fordie [Head Coach Graham Ford] from the sidelines."

The opening ODI on Thursday is due to start at 07:30 GMT.