Ireland captain Paul Stirling became the most capped player in men’s T20I history, surpassing former India skipper Rohit Sharma during Ireland’s opening T20 match against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Thursday. Sterling took the field for his 160th match in this format, surpassing Rohit’s long-standing mark of 159 matches.
Since making his T20I debut against Pakistan in 2009, Stirling has been a central figure in Ireland’s journey in the shortest format. A regular at the top of the order, the 35-year-old has built his career around aggressive powerplay batting and consistency, and has played a key role in many of Ireland’s most memorable T20 performances.
Longevity has gone along with output. Sterling is currently fourth in the all-time T20I run-scorer list behind Babar Azam, Rohit and Virat Kohli with 3,874 runs, including one century and 24 half-centuries.
Sterling has also played decisive innings on the big stage, notably against Afghanistan in the World T20 Qualifier finals in 2012 and 2013. While his bowling has been limited in recent years due to a back injury, he has bowled full spells in the past, including in Ireland’s historic World Cup victory over England in 2011.
His power-hitting has earned him regular opportunities on the franchise circuit, with appearances in the Pakistan Super League, Bangladesh Premier League, ILT20, SA20 and The Hundred. Later, he scored an unbeaten 74 off 42 balls for Southern Brave in a nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire in 2022.
In the Dubai T20I, no major contributions came with the bat in Stirling’s historic appearance. Opening the innings, he scored eight runs before getting out. Ireland, however, batting first scored a competitive score of 178 runs for six wickets. Their score reached 62 for three in the ninth over, before Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher added 55 runs for the fourth wicket. Ireland were once again 145 for six in the 18th over, but a 33-run partnership between Benjamin Callitz and George Dockrell helped raise the total.
Dockrell is third in the all-time T20I appearances list with 153 matches, followed by Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi with 148 matches. England captain Jos Buttler is in the top five with 144 matches.
Rohit, who retired from T20 International after leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, had held this record in his name since his debut in 2007. Stirling’s achievements reflect a career of durability, consistency and continued impact in international T20 cricket.
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