Joshua Little becomes first Ireland player to fetch IPL contract
Young pacer Joshua Little has become the first Ireland player to fetch a contract in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) picked the left-arm pacer for Rs. 4.4 crore at the IPL 2023 mini-auction on Friday (December 23). GT had to beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to get the fast bowler on board. Here are further details.
Joshua Little has risen to the prominence
Little had entered the auction at Rs. 50 lakh. As his stocks have gone up lately, LSG and GT went after him straightaway. The Ahmedabad-based franchises eventually won the bidding war and snapped the fast-bowling sensation. Little, 23, can swing the ball both ways and that too at a decent pace. It would be interesting to see how the Hardik Pandya-led side utilizes him.
A look at his T20 career
Little owns a formidable T20 record, having scalped 105 wickets in 83 games at 20.46. While his economy rate reads 7.34, the tally includes two four-wicket hauls and a five-for as well. As far as T20Is are concerned, the youngster owns 62 wickets in just 53 outings at an economy rate of 7.65. He has two four-fers at the highest level.
Historic run in 2022
Notably, Little scripted history this year as he became the bowler with the most T20I wickets in a calendar year (full-member team players). He has scalped 39 wickets in 26 games at a brilliant economy rate of 7.58 (four-fer: 1). In seven matches at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Little picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.00.
Hat-trick at T20 WC
Little recorded a memorable hat-trick against New Zealand at the T20 WC. He became the second Irish and sixth overall bowler to claim a hat-trick in the tournament. He dismissed Kane Williamson, Jimmy Neesham, and Mitchell Santner on successive deliveries in the 19th over to get the feat. He recorded figures of 3/22 in his four overs at the Adelaide Oval.
Joshua excited to join forces with Hardik and Co.
Little, after fetching the lucrative deal, expressed his excitement to join forces with skipper Hardik and head coach Ashish Nehra. "I am delighted to have been signed by the defending champion, the Gujarat Titans, and look forward to playing under Hardik within such a high-quality squad," Little was quoted as saying by Cricket Ireland. "I am also looking forward to working with coach Nehra."
Gujarat Titans squad for IPL 2023
Gujarat Titans squad for IPL 2023: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid, Khan, Rahul Tewatia Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma.
