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NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Desert Vipers’ opening game of this season’s ILT20, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Sunday, Director of Cricket Tom Moody confirmed UAE wicketkeeper-batter Tanish Suri would keep wickets for the team in the early stages of the tournament.
Moody was asked on the Vipers Voices podcast about the impact-sub rule, which allows a player to be switched in and out of the playing eleven at any stage, and how the team would be using that in selection, especially in the case of the two wicketkeeping batters Tanish Suri and Azam Khan.
“Yes, it’s a tricky one in that a lot depends on obviously if you’re batting and bowling first,” said Moody. “But certainly, initially, we are looking for Tanish Suri to keep wicket.
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“His game has really elevated over the last 12 months, so it is really exciting to see our UAE talent evolve and for us to play a small role in helping Tanish and others develop is really, really important.
“And that is the exciting thing around this league that I have noticed in the first two years – the growth of the domestic players, and we have got two really good examples in Ali Naseer and Tanish Suri.
“They are two young exciting UAE players that are starting to break in regularly to the national setup, but they are players that can hold their own in this league comfortably, and I think that is a credit to the league and what we are trying to do as a franchise in trying to develop the domestic players, which is exciting.”
“Someone like Azam Khan will be potentially playing a different role as an impact batter, or we have obviously got the flexibility to use him in a dual role as a wicketkeeper-batter, which he is more familiar with, but having that impact sub does create sort of that creativity with your selection, and we will be looking to explore that.”
Tom Moody also listed a few players who were either confirmed to be in the playing eleven for Sunday’s opener or at least were top of the queue for selection.
“I think you can probably guess most of the starters, but again without divulging too much, we obviously know that Wanindu Hasaranga is not going to be available (as he has not yet arrived in the UAE), but the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Mohamed Amir will definitely be featuring in our bowling attack, there is no question.
“Without Wanindu Hasaranga here, someone like Nathan Sowter, who had such a good practice game (taking four for eight) will be in front of the queue to be leading the spin attack. And obviously, our new arrivals in Fakhar Zaman will definitely be starting as well, so it is going to be exciting to see the combination of his class and experience alongside someone like Alex Hales at the top of the order.”
Reflecting on the team’s excellent performance in the warm-up game against the Gulf Giants on Thursday, Moody said it was just the boost the team needed.
“I think the most important thing when you are preparing for a tournament is just having that early confidence in the playing group and certain individuals shining early doors.
“We had a couple of good individual performances. As we know, practice matches do not equal points towards the trophy, but certainly, from a psychological point of view, it is a positive thing for the group that we have had a win.
“I think in those situations, players get out there and get familiar with their potential roles with the side and put in a good performance. Again, you can have as many net sessions as you like, but you get your real value out of performing in a practice match.”
The Desert Vipers’ first match of the 2025 ILT20 is on day two of the tournament, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi
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