Dubai: (Pakistan Point News - 21 August, 2023)
The Desert Vipers have announced an impressive list of new players who will join the squad for season two of the DP World ILT20.
Coming into the line-up which finished as runners-up in the first edition of the tournament are the Pakistan trio of fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan, plus Scotland batter Michael Jones, Dutch all-rounder Bas de Leede, and English batter Adam Hose.
Explaining the overall goal behind these signings, Director of Cricket Tom Moody said: “We are certainly looking at all our options to continue to build the strongest squad we possibly can, but more importantly to build a team that is not only going to take it one step further in 2024 and not only play in a final but win a final.
“We are also looking to build a squad that our growing fan-base are going to look forward to supporting. The more support we have on the other side of the fence the greater the heights the team can reach.”
In addition to the already-announced superstar bowler from Pakistan Shaheen Shah Afridi, also making a grand entrance into the squad are a player who has led his country at Twenty20 International level, Shadab Khan, and power-hitter Azam Khan.
Shadab Khan may be still only 24 years old, but he has already accumulated a wealth of experience at international and domestic levels, having played in Twenty20 tournaments across continents, from the Caribbean to Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Pakistan all-rounder has played more than 250 T20s with over 2500 runs at a strike-rate of 136 and almost 300 wickets at an economy rate of 7.41. The talismanic leg-spinner became the first Pakistan men’s cricketer to take 100 T20I wickets for his country earlier this year.
He was also the joint-highest wicket-taker for finalists Pakistan (along with Shaheen Shah Afridi) at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia last year, capturing 11 wickets. Add to that his Asia Cup experience in the UAE last year, where he took eight wickets in five matches to help steer Pakistan to the final (they lost in that final to Sri Lanka), and it is no surprise he has been on the Desert Vipers radar.
Tom Moody said: “Shadab is certainly a great package and a genuine all-rounder, someone who can bat in the top six and have an impact. With his leg-spin he is very creative in what he does there. From a skill point of view, he is complete, and on top of that, he has got a growing reputation as a respected leader.”
Shadab Khan’s latest action has been for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred in the UK.
Azam Khan, son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan, was most recently seen in action in Canada in the Canadian T20 League for the Panthers. Azam finished as the side’s leading run-scorer, with 179 runs at a strike-rate of 135.6.
Apart from Canada, the wicketkeeper-batter also has abundant experience across T20 leagues in the Caribbean (CPL), Bangladesh (BPL), Sri Lanka (LPL) and Pakistan (PSL). Azam has played more than 100 T20s and has topped 2000 runs with one hundred and a strike rate of 142.44, including a whopping 139 sixes. His most recent UAE experience came earlier this year in March, when he played the latest of his five T20Is, against Afghanistan in Sharjah.
Azam said he was delighted to be joining the Vipers: “I am very excited to announce I am joining the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 for the upcoming season. The UAE fans are crazy about cricket and last season the atmosphere was amazing. I am looking forward to this season and hoping to put on some good performances in the tournament.”
Tom Moody said Azam Khan could be a player for the Desert Vipers to strike fear into opposition attacks: “We are thrilled to have Azam join us, because he is a real threat. We have seen his performances over recent years in franchise cricket, where he has stunned the opposition, and stunned the crowd with some of his performances with the bat.
“He is a genuine power-hitter that can take the game in a breath-taking way away from the opposition. We look forward to having him as an impact player in the middle-order to join the likes of Sherfane Rutherford, who has continued to show his high level of excellence in the tournament in Canada recently.”
