The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has certainly become the breeding ground for the shortest format of the game. Be it the Indian Premier League or the T20 World Cup, the nation has been providing ample resources for the betterment of the game for quite a long time now. And now, it gearing up for its own T20 League.
Adding to the list of franchise cricket across the world, UAE is set to make a grand entry with the ILT20, starting January 13 in Dubai. The tournament will witness a large number of cricketers from different corners of the world playing for six different teams.
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Sharjah Warriors is one of the teams which will be led by English all-rounder Moeen Ali. The side boasts some phenomenal international players including Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Chris Woakes, Mohammed Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The inaugural season of ILT20 is going to offer a lot to the lovers of the games while T20 World Champion Dawid Malan is extremely stirred to be a part of the tournament. One of the finest batters in international cricket, Malan, unfortunately, missed out on the big T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan due to an injury. However, he is ‘super excited’ and ‘recharged’ to be back on the field with Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Cricketnext, Malan spoke at length about the upcoming ILT20 and how he looks at it. Here are the excerpts of the conversation.
UAE is going to house numerous superstars as the ILT20 is about to start. How excited are you about this new league?
Yeah, super excited. The best part about playing in franchises and different leagues is that you get to rub shoulders with the best players in the world. A lot of the best players in the world are a part of this league. From a player’s point of view, it’s super exciting for me to be able to be on the field with these guys and play against them. And I guess with the fans as well, to come and see some of the heroes of the game, I think is going to be absolutely phenomenal.
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You missed out on the T20 World Cup final, but I hope you would carry the confidence and intensity to this T20?
Yeah, that’s the key. Obviously really disappointing not to have played in that final due to injury. One of the toughest moments of my career. Definitely, I am confident and recharged and hopefully, will come back strong.
Since it’s the inaugural edition of the tournament, you are going to come across a plethora of players including international and local. How do you think will it add to your T20 experience?
You are never too old to learn or get better. That is why these franchises stand out. You get to rub shoulders with the best players from different countries. See how they go about and learn from them. I guess that is the key to anything. If you think you have known it all, it will come back to bite you. So, if you can stay humble and learn from as many people as you can and take what you need, I think it’s a great position to be in.
You got your mates Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes from the English team here at the Sharjah Warriors. They are obviously known to you but how difficult is it to gel up with others when you go to overseas leagues?
We are quite lucky in this regard. I know quite a lot of players from the same country. So, we have got quite a lot of players from Afghanistan and quite a lot of players from England, which I guess helps the mix. We all have played with each other in different tournaments and different franchises and against each other in international cricket. So, we have all come across each other quite a lot. Seven or eight days before hand, team getting to train and get to know each other, helps a great deal when you get to that first game.
I won’t be wrong if I say that UAE is turning into a breeding ground for T20 cricket. And with the beginning of ILT20, what do you make of this league when there are already other tournaments in the world?
The world is changing rapidly with different tournaments. I think it has given us as players, so many opportunities to play in franchise tournaments. The UAE has been fantastic in hosting so many tournaments. I mean, they have got the T10, they had the IPL here, they had the PSL and now the ILT20. This tournament has some of the best players in the world and I guess that’s all you need for it to be a successful tournament.
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