Just under a day away from the start of season three of the DP World ILT20 (January 11-February 9), cricket legends Tim Southee, Ben Dunk, Azam Khan, Tymal Mills, Joe Weatherly and Adam Hose were in Dubai office on Wednesday to participate in the trophy tour and give their amazing cricket stories.
It’s already the second-most watched league in the world behind Indian Premier League (IPL) after the headline-grabbing competition was given a big lift last month with Sharjah Warriorz announcing the signing of New Zealand international Southee.
The Kiwi speedy ace who retired from international cricket last month when he beat England in the final Test match of his career was beaming on Wednesday as he embarked on the new ILT20 season.
“It was nice to wrap up my international career with a win for New Zealand and now I am really excited about this tournament. I am happy to play in the ILT20,” the 36-year-old pace bowler, who finished his international career with 776 wickets across the three formats of the game, added.
Southee will also head Warriorz in his first season of ILT20. “It’s an exciting side to captain. It’s a great group of guys with a nice mixture of international players,” he said.
It will also see the Australian legend David Warner return to Dubai Capitals in the tournament which is a good opportunity for UAE local players to learn from the big guys.
“Of course they have a chance to learn their game and improve from some of the best players out there,” Southee added.
“Hopefully the players from here will keep learning and keep asking questions on the game. I wish them all the best in cricket and keep finding ways to be better cricketers”.
As for the other Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan, his explosive skills for Desert Vipers should come in handy in the third season.
I had a great season last year so I’m excited also this year,’ said Azam, son of former Pakistan captain Moin Khan.
“We are not champions so it would be nice to be able to end on the winning side. It is also my chance to wish everybody good luck for the tournament. I’m so excited about the tournament. Let’s see what happens.”
Many young cricketers who want to play in India came for the occasion, too on Wednesday. And the 26-year-old Azam said to play cricket always mentally positive, without stressing about winning matches.
“You get negative and then you can stop believing in yourself. So yeah, I always say you have to be positive mental to play cricket and that’s how I try to be,” he said.
The England paceman Tymal Mills who will be playing for Gulf Giants shared Azam’s sentiments when asked what cricket advice he would offer to new cricketers in the UAE.
“Just enjoy your cricket. So find a thing you’re good at or just love, the bat or the ball and just enjoy yourself,” the 32-year-old batman said.
Azam’s Desert Vipers teammate Adam Hose is looking forward to getting things going in the tournament.
“I am really well and super eager to start the tournament,” the English batsman said.
“Of course the intention is to try to win this tournament. “We have a good group and it would be great for us if we get on the right foot.”’ ‘That is a good team.
And just as Joe Weatherly, another Englishman who will play for Dubai Capitals in the UAE, extolled the superior cricketing infrastructure in the UAE, his colleague Ben Dunk spoke out about the world of cricket after the explosion of T20 franchise cricket leagues.
“Cricket has shifted so much in the past five or 10 years. The most franchise cricket has ever done in the world is provide a chance for home players and home fans to see some of the best cricketers on the planet,” the Australian player added.
“Then franchise cricket will go up, and local players will be able to play against players from around the world more, and that’s good”.
The players left autographs for the wannabe cricketers who also got to bowl at the lights in a mobile net that Khaleej Times, the official media partner of the ILT20, provided.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
DP World ILT20
When: January 11-February 9
Where: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
Teams: 6
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
Desert Vipers
Dubai Capitals
Gulf Giants
MI Emirates
Sharjah Warriorz
Who are the big stars?
Andre Russell (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Alex Hales (Desert Vipers), Sherfane Rutherford (Desert Vipers), David Warner (Dubai Capitals), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), Chris Jordan (Gulf Giants), Shimron Hetmyer (Gulf Giants), Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates), Adil Rashid (Sharjah Warriorz), Johnson Charles (Sharjah Warriorz), Tim Southe (Sharjah Warriorz), Fakhar Zaman (Desert Vipers), Shai Hope (Dubai Capitals), Lockie Ferguson (Desert Vipers), Roston Chase (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Matthew Wade (Sharjah Warriorz), Ibrahim Zadran (Ggulf Giants), Romario Shepherd (MI Emirates), Phil Salt (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders).
Season to be the last word in action as DP World ILT20 players are all set to hit the new season in UAE – stay tuned. Subscribe to Sports Monks for all the updates!
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