UAE's Tanish Suri handed wicket-keeping responsibility for Desert Vipers at start of ILT20

National team member has made a big impression early in his career

UAE and Desert Vipers wicketkeeper Tanish Suri. Photo: Desert Vipers

The Desert Vipers are set to reinforce their commitment to local talent by handing the wicketkeeping gloves to Tanish Suri for the start of the DP World International League T20.

The 19-year-old national team player is set to be favoured ahead of Azam Khan, one of the biggest names in the competition, behind the stumps for the opening game against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Sunday.

Competition rules stipulate two players in each line up have to be UAE-based players. In the first two seasons, sides have rarely risked any additional local players to the minimum.

Within the matches themselves, the opportunities afforded to home-based players to prove themselves have often been limited, too.

More than any of the other five franchises, though, the Vipers have tried to set down roots within UAE cricket. That includes organising schools and junior development programmes outside of the ILT20 season.

Now they are backing one of the brightest young talents in domestic cricket in their first XI. Suri was part of the UAE side which beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka on their way to the Under-19 Asia Cup final in 2023.

He graduated immediately to the senior national team, and was recruited by the Vipers franchise 12 months ago.

He had the gloves at the start of Season 2, but that was because Dinesh Chandimal and Azam – the powerhouse Pakistan batter who hit the ILT20’s fastest 50 last season - were late arrivals in Dubai because of commitments with their homeland.

Now, though, Suri is set to be named as the wicketkeeper in the starting XI for their first match, against the Knight Riders at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Azam, meanwhile, is likely to be utilised in an impact sub role, if the game dictates it.

“Someone like Azam Khan will be potentially playing a different role as an impact batter,” Tom Moody, the Vipers director of cricket, said.

“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.”

Moody has been vocal in backing the ILT20 as a tool for developing UAE cricket. The fact there are nine overseas players in each side is unique in major franchise cricket.

The ruling has attracted criticism from abroad. Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain who is now the commissioner of the SA20, said this week that the league is “not good for the game”.

Moody, though, says Suri is evidence of the impact the league can have in the development of young players for the host country.

“His game has really elevated over the last 12 months,” Moody said. “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.

“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.

“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.”

If Suri does feel nerves at the prospect of playing on the big stage, he does have some experience to fall back on. During his time with the franchise last season, he picked the brains of each of Chandimal and Azam.

“I had a word with them about how they react to those big swings, late swings, and how their feet move,” Suri said.

“And the most important thing I got from them was how they dealt with the pressure, because it is not always that things go positively as far as a result in your game goes.

“They told me that right now, as a youngster, I have got plenty of time so it is just for me to focus on my game, stick to my basics and keep it simple. Obviously, the pressure is always there and I just need to learn to cope up with that.”