In the IPL 2023 auction on Friday, Josh Little became the first cricketer from Ireland to seal a deal. According to him, it is an "incredible opportunity" to play in the tournament in which he will get to work with India all-rounder Hardik Pandya and head coach Ashish Nehra.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans bagged the 23-year-old pacer for Rs 4.4 crore at the mini auction. The Titans, led by Hardik and coached by former India pacer Nehra, won the league in their debut season in 2022.
"I'm delighted to have been signed by the defending champions, the Gujarat Titans, and look forward to playing under Hardik Pandya within such a high-quality squad," Little said.
"I am also looking forward to working with coach Ashish Nehra and would like to thank the management team at the Titans for believing in me," he added.
Little made his international debut in the year 2016. He has played 22 ODIs and 53 T20Is in his career so far.
"I have loved playing international cricket for Ireland - and that will always remain my priority, but to be able to learn and play in the IPL will be an incredible opportunity, and thanks to Cricket Ireland for supporting me in this."
Little had served as a net bowler for Chennai Super Kings last year. He had claimed a memorable hat-trick against New Zealand in Ireland's T20 World Cup loss in Adelaide earlier this year. He had dismissed skipper Kane Williamson, James Neesham, and Mitchell Santner in the 19th over.
"We are delighted for Josh and wish him well in the IPL next year. Josh is a hard-working and dedicated athlete who has come up through the Irish system," Cricket Ireland's High-Performance Director Richard Holdsworth said.
"He has been an essential part of the Irish set-up for several years now and we believe his development will only accelerate further through involvement in the IPL."
Gujarat Titans full squad
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Shivam Mavi, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, R Sai Kishore, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Matthew Wade, Alzarri Joseph, Kane Williamson, Wriddhiman Saha, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Srikar Bharat, Mohit Sharma, Odean Smith, Noor Ahmad, Darshan Nalkande, Urvil Patel, Sai Sudharsan, and Pradeep Sangwan
(Inputs from PTI)
