ILT20: Pakistan trio will give Desert Vipers ‘competitive advantage’ against rivals

When the DP World International League T20 was still in the planning stage ahead of its debut season, the Desert Vipers acknowledged they were giving up a little in terms of expertise to their rivals.

Three of the other sides were, after all, offshoots of Indian Premier League franchises and therefore had a ready infrastructure.

The Vipers, by contrast, were starting with a blank canvas. They made a good fist of it, making the final at the first attempt, where they lost out to Gulf Giants.

Now, the Vipers might be about to steal a march on their opposition.

The Vipers are owned by the American businessman Avram Glazer. The other five franchises have Indian owners: three with associations to the IPL, the other two with the women’s version of that competition.

It may not be a coincidence that the Vipers are the only side so far to have looked to Pakistan to recruit players, since they have become available ahead of Season 2.

They will welcome Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan and Azam Khan when the new campaign starts in January 2024.

The prospect of playing alongside such a high calibre trio is something Ali Naseer, the teenage all-rounder from the UAE, is relishing.

“Our squad was supposed to have Azam Khan last time but because of some NOC issues he couldn’t get in,” Naseer said.

“It is really good to have three of the best Pakistan players out there in our team.

“It will give us a good competitive advantage in this tournament because there is only one Shaheen Afridi in the world, and luckily he is in our team.”

The chance for home-based players to learn from world leading players like Shaheen is one of the key factors of the ILT20, according to the organisers.

Naseer said he was thrilled when he found out the star left-arm