Mark Adair misses out on Ireland squad to play Afghanistan "to work on fitness and conditioning"

The seamer has previously struggled with an ankle injury and will be replaced in the team by Shane Getkate

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Ireland seamer Mark Adair has been dropped from his country's T20 squad ahead of a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan in March.

The 23-year-old bowled just two wicketless overs during the team's three T20 fixtures in the West Indies last month, and his omission from the side to travel to India for next month's series is "to work on his fitness and conditioning, as well as to manage an ongoing ankle injury" according to a Cricket Ireland press release.

Adair's spot in the 14-man squad is taken by fellow Northern Knights seamer Shane Getkate in the only change to the squad from the Caribbean tour, where Ireland picked up their first win under new captain Andrew Balbirnie by upsetting the current T20 World Cup holders by four runs in Grenada to open the series.

Getkate last featured for the side during the T20 World Cup Qualifier in November, with one wicket from two appearances. Adair was the team's leading bowler in the UAE as they secured their place at the tournament proper this October, taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 4.78.

Andrew White, Ireland's chairman of selectors, commented: "The squad that performed so well in the recent West Indies series will get another opportunity to show what they can offer, against familiar but formidable opponents in this format of the game.

"While it is unfortunate Mark Adair will not be travelling, this opens up an opportunity for Shane Getkate, who missed out on the Caribbean tour.

"We are confident that we have selected a well-balanced side, but we will be looking for greater consistency as the year progresses. The last tour gave us an insight into this Irish side's potential by beating the World Champions in their own backyard, but there is no doubt the players will be keen to show those performances on a more regular basis."

Ireland squad: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

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