Former Irish international John Mooney says Ireland need more depth and quality in their squad after a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign.

Ireland suffered a painfully embarrassing loss to Oman, a washout against Bangladesh, and another loss to The Netherlands meant a first round exit.

Speaking on RTE Radio, Mooney said: “I think the old guard need to be pushed a bit harder by younger players."

"There’s been a bit of a gap between young players putting their hands up to be selected. For a long time a lot of these batters, a lot of the lads in the top five in the Irish team, have never been challenged so we need some of the younger players to start to develop.

“The old guard has been very successful. This is the first year in a long time that we haven’t dominated at associate level so things do need to be looked at. I wouldn’t say the old guard is finished we just need a bit more competition from the younger players."

“There’s loads of things when you get into a tournament, and you get edgy and nervy, that can go wrong."

“There’s loads of things when you get into a tournament, and you get edgy and nervy, that can go wrong. It just looked like our guys weren’t comfortable with bat, ball or in the field," added Mooney, who scored 2605 runs at an average of 23.68.

"I think we have the players we just haven’t found a new way of playing and other sides have."

There still is one Irish team remaining in India, with the Women's side taking to the global stage, facing the New Zealand White Ferns on Friday in their opening game of the campaign.

"They've been working extremely hard. They haven't ever had a really big win to their name so I'm hoping that in this World Cup that's going to change.

"I've seen a real steel and determination in the women over the last couple of years. Hopefully they can cause an upset or two in this tournament because they really deserve it."