Balbirnie.
Balbirnie on Speaking at Lord's on the eve of his team's one-off encounter with England, 
 he acknowledged the immensity of the challenge that awaits Ireland this week - not simply in facing down an opposition that has won 10 of its last 12 Tests in thrilling style, but in putting to one side the crucial World Cup Qualifiers that are looming in Zimbabwe later in June.
Some will be back with the Ireland squad for that 10-team campaign, which also features two former World Cup winners in West Indies and Sri Lanka. but, he is resting up for now after finishing as a runner-up with Gujarat Titans in a gripping IPL final that spilled into the small hours of Tuesday morning in Ahmedabad.
while Little's absence has attracted ire, Franchise raids on Ireland players on crickeparticularly from Ireland's performance director, Richard Holdsworth, Balbirnie insists that his star bowler is still doing his bit to put Irish cricket on the world map and drive to international cricket, it may not be long before more of his best players are in similar demand elsewhere on the franchise circuit.
Balbirnie said "That is something that happens above me and I've got to support what's best for Josh," . "Do I want him in my team? Of course I do. He's a brilliant bowler in the white-ball format. We've seen that on the biggest stage, adding "Josh is Josh. We as a team want to promote Irish cricket as best we can when we're on the pitch, but he's also doing that himself with what he's achieving on the world stage. What he is doing at the moment is only good for Irish cricket, and the development of players coming up through the ranks. Franchise raids on Ireland players on cricket
"Who knows what is going to happen in the next couple of years? We have to create a player-base in our country so if that does happen, and certain players miss certain Irish games, we have to make sure that there isn't a drop in standard when we bring a player in.
IPL season•Associated Press
Little  has finished his maiden IPL campaign with seven wickets in ten matches, and fought his way back into the starting line-up for the play-offs and final, even after missing a fortnight in early May to play in Ireland's ODI series against Bangladesh.
As Balbirnie conceded, success on the international stage - whether that comes through qualification for the 50- and 20-over World Cups, or through individual feats at Lord's this week - may well come with spin-off benefits for the players involved, even if it's not entirely in the interests of Ireland's international ambitions.
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