Josh Little can expect to run into a few familiar faces at Malahide today when he spearheads the Ireland attack against the might of India in the first of three T20 internationals.

The 23-year-old Dubliner is no longer a stranger on the cricket-crazy sub-continent after a successful first stint in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, helping Gujarat Titans reach the final after signing a contract for 500,000 euros.

Left-arm quick Little claimed Indian wicketkeeper Sanju Samson as one of his seven wickets in the world’s richest tournament, while his rivalry with all-rounder Washington Sundar dates back to the U19 World Cup in 2016.

Although the Pembroke man has suffered a slump in form since the IPL, including a World Cup qualifying tournament to forget in Zimbabwe, his Ireland bowling coach Ryan Eagleson has no doubts about his special qualities.

“Josh has that high-value strength of being a left-arm seamer who creates different angles, and has the ability to swing the ball back into the right-hander,” Eagleson said.

“Plus he can go up and down with his pace to deceive, and push the batter back with a well-directed short ball.

“While we all want someone to bowl at 90mph plus, there are other skill-sets and ultimately it’s about learning to read the batter and keep one step ahead.”

Ireland came within a boundary of beating India for the first time last summer and have three chances to achieve that ambition this week, with tonight’s  match followed by another sell out clash on Sunday and a final game on Wednesday.