Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir, two players on the Desert Vipers team, talked about their roles and the strategies they plan to use in the ILT20 competition. Shadab Khan talked about how flexible he is and how he’s ready to take on any job that the team management gives him. As a sign of his dedication to the team’s goals and willingness to help in a variety of ways, Shadab also hinted at the chance of batting higher up the order.
You can see that I’m ready to do whatever the team asks of me. And if you’ve seen how our team bats in the top order, you know that I play by the team’s plan. And for sure, I will play higher up the line in the ILT20 if that’s what the team management wants. When asked about his place in the Vipers team, Shadab said, “Because even I want to bat higher up the order.”
Two, I will try to do what the team management and leaders want, even during the power play and death overs. This is something I have said before. In other leagues, I’ve bowled during the power play, so I know what to do. However, he said, “I haven’t bowled in the death yet, and it’s fun to take on a new challenge, so if the chance comes up, I will definitely do it.”
To make things more interesting for the team, Desert Vipers left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir talked about what it’s like to be a senior player and how he trains young players from different countries, with a focus on players from Pakistan. Amir stressed how important it is to give young players clear roles and stick to a stable plan across games, saying that consistent planning is key to their growth.
In the bigger picture of Asian cricket, Mohammad Amir talked about the need for a more long-lasting approach. He was upset about how often strategies change after each match, except for India. Amir also stressed how important it is to give young players for the Desert Vipers the freedom to express themselves on the field. He said that growth is a slow process that needs consistent chances over a number of series.
With the T20 World Cup coming up soon, Mohammad Amir talked about how important it is for young players to keep developing through events like the ILT20.
“I believe that when you add a young player to the team, they should know exactly what their job is.” You tell them what your job is as well as theirs. We mostly change our plans from series to series, except for India. If you look at Sri Lanka or Pakistan, our plans change every series. That shouldn’t take place. A player won’t be able to improve until you give him a free run or let him share his thoughts. “Because it takes time and you don’t see results right away,” he said.
“A process takes a few series, so when you sign a player, you should plan to play him for five years so that he can reach his full potential.” Plans change after every game in Asia except for India, which shouldn’t happen. And as a more experienced player, I tell young players that they need to keep their minds calm when they ask me what they can do differently. “As older players, we should make sure that the young players are calm, because when you’re calm, you can express yourself better,” he said.