Cricket Ireland (CI) will be granting the NOC (No Objection Certificate) to Josh Little to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans in 2023 after he was picked up by them during the player auction held on 23rd December 2022. However, CI and IPL organizers have agreed to a clause in the contract to allow him to travel back home to play in the three (3) ODI matches against Bangladesh as part of the ODI Super League championship. The matches are critical to Ireland’s chances of trying to qualify directly for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
High Performance Director Richard Holdsworth was quoted saying in the official press release “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. 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. We have carved out the three ODIs against Bangladesh at home in early 2023 from the deal, given the potential crucial nature of those fixtures in the context of our World Cup qualification.”
Josh Little already has franchise opportunities at the beginning of 2023 with SA20 (South Africa T20 League) and PSL (Pakistan Super League), adding up to his already playing stints in the LPL (Lanka Premier League) and the Hundred competitions. Little had a major impact for Ireland in the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and has already represented Ireland in twenty-two (22) ODIs and fifty-three (53) T20Is at the International level.
