Malan says the tournament is a big opportunity for his side to increase the appeal of a game which still remains in the minority sport bracket on the island of Ireland.

“Hopefully people will switch the telly on and see a successful team and hopefully that will encourage people to go and play a wonderful sport.

“We want to try and work across the system and across our pathways so we can try and get those players upskilled and hopefully play for Ireland in years to come.”

The Irish go into the tournament having beaten Pakistan in the opening game of the recent T20 series in Dublin, before winning a tri-nations series in the Netherlands against the Dutch and Scotland.

After being appointed as white-ball skipper following Ireland’s disappointing failure to qualify for last year’s World Cup, Paul Stirling will lead the Irish in the USA and the Caribbean and Malan says he is the ideal man to take the team into battle.

“The experience, the calmness that Stirlo brings from being on the road so much over the last five years and his ability to keep things really simple and have a real consistency in the way that he communicates [is his great attribute]. He is very precise,” added Malan.