ICC T20 WC: Need to bring in variations like slower balls, yorkers to succeed, says Ireland seamer Little

By Vishesh Roy
New Delhi [India], October 2 : The pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) might slow down by the time the ICC Men's T20 World Cup begins, but Ireland pacer Josh Little is confident of doing a stellar job for his side both in the powerplay and in the death overs.
"We have been watching the IPL as closely as possible to see how the pitches are going. If the pitches do slow down, we will have to adjust as a bowling group. Whether it is slower balls or yorkers, anything different. I do not think my role would be limited to the first six overs, hopefully, I can add something at the death as well," Little told ANI in an interaction organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Ireland is placed in Group A of the Qualifying Stages for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup alongside Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Namibia. The top two sides from the group will qualify for the Super 12 Stages.
When asked about the importance of the match against Sri Lanka, Little said: "As I was just saying that the match against Sri Lanka will be massive. They are a world-class side so we have to be on the top of our game. If we win that match, it will be really special and it will definitely give us the confidence to kick on in the rest of the tournament."
Ireland will kickstart its campaign in the showpiece event against the Netherlands on October 18 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The next two games against Sri Lanka and Namibia will be played on October 20 and October 22.
The 21-year-old seamer is an aggressive bloke on the field and he is not shy to have a word or two in the middle to disrupt the confidence of the batter. Last year, he was reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second ODI against England when he gave Jonny Bairstow a verbal send-off.
"I mean it is a good thing to write about if there is an altercation on the field, I would not say the media reads too much into it. We are all just trying our best and if we get into sort of a word fight in the middle, it is just about people trying their best," said the seamer.
Talking about the preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup and how important Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling are to the team's chances, Little said: "Yeah, our preparation has been very good. We have had two decent series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. We have had cricket under our belt, plenty of training. We cannot wait to get out there in the heat and get stuck into the T20Is."
"Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling are absolutely crucial for us. They always have been, they have never been more ready than this and hopefully, they can go out and have a great tournament as we know they are capable of," he added.