Josh Little is in line for a bumper pay day next spring after being snapped up by Gujarat Titans for EUR 500,000 in yesterday’s Indian Premier League auction in Kochi.

Left-arm seamer Little, who has enjoyed a stellar 2022, including taking a hat-trick at the T20 World Cup, attracted a bidding war between the Titans and Lucknow Super Giants that started at 50 lakh (EUR 57,000) and went all the way to 4.4 crore.

The 23-year-old Pembroke bowler becomes the first serving Ireland international to be signed for the mega-rich IPL, and only the second Irishman after Eoin Morgan.

Little’s participation in the two-month long tournament, that begins on March 20, will require the cooperation of Cricket Ireland who have two series scheduled against Bangladesh and another in Sri Lanka during that period.

But his Irish bosses have already shown flexibility by allowing their prize asset to miss the T20 leg of next month’s tour to Zimbabwe so he can showcase his wares in the new South African franchise tournament.

A star of the recent T10 event in Dubai, Little has found his pace and variations in demand worldwide and has also signed for next year’s Pakistan Super League, but the IPL is the jewel in the crown of short-form cricket.

In sport, only the NFL attracts bigger TV money per game and the incredible riches available to top players was seen yesterday when England seamer Sam Curran was sold for an auction record of 18.25 crore (EUR 2,075,000).