Ireland cricketer lashes out at CSK for treatment he received as net bowler

The Ireland international was part of the net bowling group for the four-time IPL champions earlier in the year. 
 
CSK?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

Irish fast-bowler Joshua Little made a shocking revelation from his time as a net bowler with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during IPL 2022. Little said the treatment handed out to him by the MS Dhoni-led side despite being an Ireland representative at the international stage wasn't right. 

Speaking to Cricbuzz in an interview prior to the IPL 2023 mini-auction, where he is expected to become Ireland's first-ever IPL star, Little said while he was promised a place in the main squad if any of the incumbents went down with an injury, he was ultimately reduced to just a net bowler, given "two overs" to bowl at the CSK batters. 

The young left-arm pacer said his services were required mainly after the CSK squad bowlers had gotten tired and that too for a minimal burst, which frustrated him since he had flown all the way from Ireland to do a particular job and potentially find an IPL gig. 

Joshua Little's shocking allegation on CSK 

That was no way to treat an international cricketer, stressed Joshua Little, who came in from Ireland specifically to be CSK's net bowler mid-way through the 15th edition of the IPL but left the camp after only two weeks considering the treatment handed out to him. 

"I was told it was something it wasn't. I was told before I went that I'm a net bowler, and if someone gets injured then there's a chance I play. But I couldn't bowl when I wanted, I'd get two overs (in training) and think, 'Two overs, I'm halfway across the world here!'," Little told Cricbuzz. 

"Maybe I was naive because I played in the Lankan Premier League and T10, I had a good year behind me. I'm an international cricketer; it didn't seem right."

Also Read: 'We played very bravely' - Head coach Saqlain Mushtaq on Pakistan's 0-3 loss at home to England

The 23-year-old said he doesn't expect CSK to bid for him at all at the forthcoming mini-auction on Friday (December 23) given how their short association panned out. 

"When I found out I was a net bowler that was required to bowl at someone when the slingers were tired, I was like 'get me out of here' - which is probably why they'll never have me back because I left after two weeks," he said. 

If not CSK, some other IPL franchise it maybe, but Little is set for a big day at the bidding war after an impressive year with the ball for Ireland.

The left-arm quick had a fruitful stint in The Hundred in UK earlier in the year and backed that up with an even more impressive T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, including a hat-trick versus New Zealand.