Mumbai, Jan 6 (IANS): United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be playing their first international cricket series against an ICC full member team when they take on Ireland in a four-match ODI series beginning Friday. The four ODIs will be played on January 8, 10, 12 and 14 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking on the series, Emirates Cricket Board general secretary Mubashshir Usmani said, "India is a nation that loves its cricket and we are thrilled that Eurosport India will bring this series to the cricket fans in the country. This is our first bilateral series with a Test playing nation after the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the world globally and an important one as we are playing an ICC full member team."

"Cricket is the most loved sport in the country and with the broadcast of this historic series Eurosport India takes a major step towards bringing India's favourite sport to our viewers," said Vijay Rajput, Senior Vice President - Affiliate sales and Head of Sports Business, Discovery - South Asia.

"This partnership is our second major association in cricket and we will look to bring more cricket action for our viewers in the upcoming days. The series being UAE's first bilateral series with a full member team - Ireland after the pandemic makes it all the more special and we are proud to be associated with it," he added.

Both the teams have announced their squads for the series which will be telecast live on Eurosport and Eurosport HD India channels.

Squads:

Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, David Delany, Gareth Delany, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O'Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

UAE: Ahmed Raza (c), Chirag Suri (vc), Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind