Head coach Malan leaves Ireland after India win

Heinrich Malan has stood down as head coach of Ireland's men's cricket team, less than 24 hours after the historic Twenty20 series win over world champions India.

The South African will leave as part of what Cricket Ireland says as a "planned transition", and a new head coach is set to be in place for a five-game one-day international series with Afghanistan in August.

The 45-year-old has been in charge of Ireland since 2022 and his final game was a dramatic one-run victory over India to clinch the T20 series on Sunday in Belfast, which followed a first-ever victory over the world champions in any format on Friday.

His contract was set to run into early 2027 but Malan believes it is the right time to leave the role.

"It has been an absolute privilege to work with these players, staff and the wider Irish cricket community.," said Malan, who said he will look back at his tenure with "great affection".

"On the field, we can look back with great pride on our historic T20 World Cup victory against England in Melbourne, our first-ever Test victory against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, the first home Test win vs Zimbabwe in Belfast, the historic T20 series win at home vs India and beating Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa as well as direct qualifications for T20 WC's through our consistent ability to challenge and beat the world's top teams.

"Thank you to the players, coaches and staff for believing in our shared vision — it has been a very special journey."

Graham West, director of high performance at Cricket Ireland, said Malan had made an "outstanding contribution" throughout his tenure.

"Over recent months, we have been discussing the upcoming World Cup Qualifier cycle and what would best support the squad's preparation," he said.

"In those conversations, Heinrich expressed a desire to step back at this point, which aligned with our focus on ensuring continuity heading into that campaign."

West added that Malan has shown "great dedication" in his time with Ireland, and leaves good foundations to build off in the future.

"He joined us at a challenging period and has played a key role in progressing the Ireland Men's set-up — from World Cup qualifications to historic Test wins, and in developing the depth of our playing group."

"Through his leadership, he has worked hard to increase the depth of playing talent within the Irish system, which will benefit the squad immensely over the coming months and years."

More to follow.