IPL Auction: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Auction was a befuddling journey of tacks and twists. Whether it is Sam Curran fetching 18.5 crores to extant as the most expensive player in the history of the IPL Auction, or a brill advert for Associate nations such as Ireland and Namibia as Joshua Little and David Wiese broke a 15-year-old mold to become the first Irish and Namibian player respectively in the IPL.
After burning the midnight oil, the Irish pacer Joshua Little has finally landed himself an IPL contract, and the Dublin-born would represent Gujarat Titans in the forthcoming edition of IPL. Swaddled at a base price of 50 Lakhs, Joshua Little was roped in by Titans at a whopping 4.40 Crores after a bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants.
Similarly, the South African-born Namibian David Wiese also became the first-ever player from his nation to set foot in the IPL. The vastly experienced all-rounder was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders in the accelerated auction at his base price of 1 Crore.
The maiden players from each country picked at the IPL auction deemed a privileged place in the books of the league, and Shane Warne from Australia, Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan, Tanmay Mishra from Kenya, and Ryan ten Doeschate from the Netherlands are all exemplars of it. Now, after being recruited by their respective franchise, Joshua Little from Ireland and David Wiese from Namibia have only diversified the roots of the IPL.
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I Am Delighted to Have Been Signed By The Defending Champions: Joshua Little
As the first Irish cricketer to sign a contract for the IPL, the 23-year-old Joshua Little is eager to work with Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Ashish Nehra.
Joshua stated in a Cricket Ireland Statement, “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.”
The left-arm-fast-medium bowler already has a scant taste of IPL as was recruited by MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings before to serve as a net bowler. Moreover, the lanky pacer also featured in several franchise leagues, such as the Lanka Premier League and The Hundred in England.
What did Joshua Little say?
“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,” Joshua Little added.
Little had an exceptional run for Ireland in the recently concluded World T20 2022 claiming 11 wickets in 8 matches in Australian conditions. Moreover, In Ireland’s final group game against New Zealand, Joshua Little floored for a remarkable hat-trick against New Zealand, dismissing Kane Williamson, James Neesham, and Mitchell Santner.
Representing Manchester Originals in the Hundred, Little aggregated 13 scalps in just 5 matches, including 1 five-wicket haul. Lastly, in 53 T20I appearances for Ireland, Little clinched 62 wickets at an economy of 7.66.
Similarly, David Wiese is also a part of England’s The Hundred by representing Northern Superchargers in the tournament. In the 2022 edition of the league, the right-handed Wiese secured a half-century in 7 games and attained 7 scalps as well.
David Wiese played for the National side, which was South Africa from 2013 to 2016. However, owing to a lack of opportunities, the 37-year-old shifted his base to Namibia, where he has been competing since 2021, and outstretched his team to T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022.
Interestingly, the right-arm-medium Wiese was also a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2015 and 2016 IPL editions, when he was considered a South African by nationality. In his brief stint for Virat Kohli-led Bangalore, David Wiese accumulated 16 wickets in 14 games in the IPL, at an economy rate of 8+.