England batter Alex Hales, wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings, West Indies bowler Sheldon Cottrell and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga were among overseas signees revealed by Desert Vipers for the inaugural edition of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Cricket’s International League T20 on Friday. England all-rounder Tom Curran, batter Ben Duckett have also signed with the team. The franchise has appointed former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody and former England wicket-keeper batter James Foster as their Director of Cricket and head coach respectively.

“I am honoured to lead the Cricket Operations of Desert Vipers in what promises to be an entertaining and high-quality tournament. We have assembled an excellent mix of youth and experience in a highly skilled squad and I warmly welcome our players from all over the world in what is truly an international event,” said Tom Moody in a statement.

Also, head coach James Foster said in a statement, “Working with such a quality group of players is hugely exciting and I cannot wait to get started with Desert Vipers. This tournament will contain a lot of competitive and entertaining cricket and I look forward to our squad playing a full role in that.”

On Friday, Lancer Capital unveiled its ILT20 League franchise named ‘Desert Vipers’.

“Desert Vipers, owned by Lancer Capital, are proud and excited to be part of @ILT20Official,” tweeted Desert Vipers.

In July, the Emirates Cricket Board confirmed that the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) League will be played between window of January 6 to February 12, 2023.

Promoted

The six-team franchise-style league will be played over a 34-match schedule at world-renowned, world-class venues in UAE. The first event is scheduled to be played between the window of January 6 and February 12, 2023.

The tournament will also provide a valuable platform for Emirates Cricket to take developing their local talent to a higher level, where UAE-based players currently integrated with the board’s programme, as well as those identified by the high-performance coaching and selection committee teams, will be given the opportunity to train and play alongside some of the world’s best minds of today’s game.