Heinrich Malan: Busy summer a great opportunity, says Irish coach
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Heinrich Malan has previously worked as New Zealand's assistant coach and fielding lead
Ireland coach Heinrich Malan is relishing a busy home schedule this summer with series against India, New Zealand and Afghanistan.
The South African will take charge of the team for the first time against India next month as preparations begin for the T20 World Cup in October.
"This will be the most cricket ever played by an Ireland side in a summer," said the 41-year-old.
"So it's a great opportunity and one we're looking forward to."
The white-ball summer programme also includes two T20s against South Africa in Bristol in August.
Malan is a former head coach of Auckland Aces and has worked as New Zealand's assistant coach and fielding lead. He was appointed to the Ireland post after fellow South African Graham Ford stepped down in December.
Extra special
"Playing India ensures a great atmosphere and it will be extra special this year after the Covid restrictions so I'm really looking forward to it," he added.
"The first game is sold out and I'm sure the second will be the same. I've spent time in the New Zealand environment and they've been playing good cricket across all formats. It will be a good test of where our players are at.
"The games against South Africa are a nice opportunity to uproot for a week and put in a squad-building exercise. Of course the players will be tested by another good side.
"Afghanistan have shown they have some serious players in their squad and if they are all available they become really competitive. It's a nice little run-in at the back end of the summer to tie down our T20 plans with the World Cup around the corner.
"There's a lot of exciting international cricket for us this summer and we're keen to get the ball rolling."
Ireland will hope to build on an impressive away series victory over West Indies in January as they prepare to face tough opposition on home turf.
Andy McBrine took four West Indies wickets before going on to hit 59 in a series-clinching victory
Malan will be on the road in the next six weeks to take in interprovincial matches and get a feel of the domestic cricket scene.
"I'm really excited about getting around the country, watching a lot of cricket, spending time with the contracted players and the interprovincial coaches - that relationship is really important and one I really want to foster.
"It's about adding and building our squad to get an 18 to 20-strong player pool that can play across all formats and hopefully compete across all formats.
"We want to create the platform for them to go out and express themselves - that's the exciting part and we get that opportunity this summer to get the players prepared as best we can leading into Australia."