Wayne Parnell ready for 'blockbuster' start to Abu Dhabi T10 with Northern Warriors

South African all-rounder, a late replacement for big-hitting West Indian Andre Russell, 'excited' about first game against Maratha Arabians on Thursday

Maratha Arabians' Chadwick Walton, right, and Chris Lynn celebrate winning the Abu Dhabi T10 final against Deccan Gladiators at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians' Chadwick Walton hit an unbeaten fifty in the Abu Dhabi T10 final against Deccan Gladiators. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians captain Dwayne Bravo celebrates the win over Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 final. Chris Whiteoak / The National

More than 20,000 fans turned up at the Zayed Cricket Stadium to watch the Abu Dhabi T10 final between Deccan Gladiators and Maratha Arabians. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians' Lasith Malinga after taking the wicket of Gladiators' Mohammad Shahzad at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Arabians' Yuvraj Singh during the final against Deccan Gladiators in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians' Chadwick Walton runs out Deccan Gladiators' Migael Pretorius in the Abu Dhabi T10 final on Sunday. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians' Kasun Rajitha took the wicket of Deccan Gladiators' Kieron Pollard . Chris Whiteoak / The National

It was a packed house at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Maratha Arabians' Dwayne Bravo celebrates the wicket of Deccan Gladiators' Dan Lawrence in the Abu Dhabi T10 final. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Wayne Parnell is ready for a “blockbuster game” after stepping into the shoes of big-hitting West Indian Andre Russell for the Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10.

The South African all-rounder, a late replacement for Russell, is all set for his Warriors debut against the defending champions Maratha Arabians in the first of the three matches on opening day at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Parnell was out of quarantine for his first training in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and will have a final workout with the Warriors squad on Wednesday ahead of the first game.

“We are first game up and very excited, and to start against the champions will be a blockbuster opening game,” Parnell said on Wednesday.

“I have been training back home in South Africa and putting in a lot of work to obviously stay prepared whenever certain situations arrive. I got a call and here I am.

“I had the first training here last night and another tonight with most of the guys coming out of the quarantine. It will be nice to meet everyone to get familiar with.”

Nicholas Pooran, the team's captain, has taken over from Russell as the Warriors' icon player. He is the player to watch along with his West Indian teammate Lendl Simmons and Pakistan international Wahab Riaz.

“We have a really good squad,” Parnell said. “I’ll be meeting some of them for the first time and the chemistry of getting to know each other is very important.

“T10 is a fast format and we obviously have to adapt very quickly and act fast to the situations. I think we all know our roles in the team. We just go out there and execute them.”

Parnell, 31, has played six Tests, 65 ODI’s and 40 T20’s for South Africa. He also counts 26 games in the Indian Premier League and has been on tour to Abu Dhabi but didn’t have the opportunity to play.

“I haven’t played here but quite familiar with the conditions,” the all-rounder said.

“It’s a good cricket wicket and watching a few IPL games on TV I think the pitch here is really good, obviously we are playing the T10 format and would need to get going straightaway.”

Shoaib Malik is the icon player of Maratha Arabians. Joining him are fellow Pakistan international Mohammad Hafeez, Bangladesh international Mosaddek Hossain and Englishman Laurie Evans are their marquee players.

Northern Warriors were champions of the second edition after Kerala Kings were winners of the inaugural event in the first two editions of the competition at Sharjah.

The event shifted to the Zayed Cricket stadium last year after Abu Dhabi Cricket in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi signed a five-year agreement with the organiser.