Ireland men's head coach Heinrich Malan has stepped down from his role, bringing an end to a successful four-year stint just a day after guiding the side to a landmark 2-0 T20I series sweep over India.

Ireland defended 154 to edge India by one run in the second and final T20I here on Sunday, restricting the visitors to 153/9 to snap their unbeaten run of 16 T20I series stretching nearly three years.

The hosts had won the opening game by 34 runs for their maiden international victory over India.

Gary Wilson has been appointed as the team's first Irish-born head coach in more than 30 years and will replace South African Malan. Wilson has played 292 games for Ireland in a 15-year international career before retiring in 2020.

"It has been an absolute privilege to work with these players, staff and the wider Irish cricket community," Malan said in a statement released by Cricket Ireland.

"My family and I have had a wonderful experience living here, and we will look back on our time involved in Irish cricket with great affection."

Although the 45-year-old's contract ran until early 2027, Malan said the timing was right to facilitate a smooth transition ahead of Ireland's push for qualification for next year's ODI World Cup.

Appointed head coach in 2022, Malan oversaw one of the most successful phases in Ireland's men's cricket history, leading the team to three successive T20 World Cup qualifications, three Test victories and a significant expansion of the country's international player pool.

"On the field, we can look back with great pride on our historic T20 World Cup victory against England in Melbourne, our first-ever Test victory against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, the first home Test win vs Zimbabwe in Belfast, the historic T20 series win at home vs India and beating Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa as well as direct qualifications for T20 WC's through our consistent ability to challenge and beat the world's top teams.

"Thank you to the players, coaches and staff for believing in our shared vision -- it has been a very special journey."

Ireland are scheduled to host Afghanistan in a five-match ODI series in August as they would be aiming to qualify for the 2027 World Cup which will be the first since 2019 to feature 14 teams.

Ranked 11th in the ICC ODI standings, Ireland would have to progress through a global qualifying tournament to secure a place in the next ODI showpiece.

They have not featured in the 50-over World Cup since 2015.

"Over recent months, we have been discussing the upcoming World Cup Qualifier cycle and what would best support the squad's preparation," Cricket Ireland's director of high-performance Graeme West said.

"In those conversations, Heinrich expressed a desire to step back at this point, which aligned with our focus on ensuring continuity heading into that campaign.

"I would like to thank Heinrich for his dedication to the head coach role -- through his leadership, he has worked hard to increase the depth of playing talent within the Irish system, which will benefit the squad immensely over the coming months and years."