How 'ambitious' Wilson plans to grow Irish cricket

While Malan's departure a day after a historic win may have come as a shock, Wilson said that internally "the succession plan has been there for a period of time".

Since he retired in 2020, the 40-year-old moved into coaching and was assistant under Malan - something Wilson said he is "grateful for" as it helped him be in a position to take over with their "unbelievably good working relationship".

"I made no secret to Cricket Ireland that I was ambitious and this is the job I wanted," Wilson said.

"Obviously, I'll have my own ideas and the way I want to go about things, and no doubt over a period of time relationships with the guys will change.

"Being an assistant coach with the guys is very, very different to being the head coach, but at the forefront for me is relationships and communication."

Wilson will have to make some difficult decisions, and he wants honesty to be at the heart of everything.

"I know the landscape of cricket in Ireland. I'm not coming in blind in terms of the facilities we've got, in terms of what player pool we've got, contracts, money and all that.

"I'm well versed in that and I like to think that I'm a well-rounded choice, hopefully."

If Ireland had defeated India with a full-strength side it would have been an incredible story.

But the fact they inflicted a first T20 series defeat on the world champions since 2023 with so many key players missing - such as Paul Stirling, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher and Josh Little - only enhanced the moment.

But it gave a chance to Jai Moondra and Matthew Hollard to announce themselves on the world stage, and they each grabbed their chance with both hands as each took three wickets on Sunday.

For Wilson, that highlights a new-found depth for Ireland, whose playing pool is far smaller than a lot of the leading nations.

"What it just goes to show you that the depth is there and we just need some more opportunity," he said.

"Credit to everyone involved, everyone saw it as an opportunity at the time."

Wilson believes Moondra and Hollard will be sought in the world of cricket after their stunning performances, but he said: "It's not just them.

"What I really liked about the performances over the weekend was that there wasn't one player that played that didn't significantly contribute towards the 2-0 series win.

"All the guys can just be so proud of what they did."