ILT20 TEAM GUIDE: The Warriors have depth in all departments but could their wealth of talent actually be their undoing, wonders OSCAR RESS
Coach: Paul Farbrace
The former assistant coach of England, who was recently appointed as the head coach of Sussex, will take charge of the team with a strong group of English players. He played an important part with Trevor Bayliss in laying the foundations of this incredible England white-ball side and will hope to have a similar effect on the Sharjah Warriors.
Captain: Moeen Ali
England's vice-captain in T20Is took control of the England team in Pakistan in the absence of Jos Buttler. His ability with both bat and ball (5,601 runs at a rate of 142.26, 175 wickets) complements his cricket brain which makes him a very good captain. He also leads Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz [Ishara Kodikara/Getty Images]
BATTING
Power hitters
Left-handed batter Evin Lewis is a clean striker of the ball but has been in and out of the West Indies team. A veteran of numerous franchise tournaments, he has scored five centuries in his T20 career and boasts a strike rate of 144.07. Of his 5,766 runs, 2,352 have come from sixes.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz already has over 100 T20 appearances to his name despite being just 21. He is greatly experienced with opportunities in the Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Super League, Lanka Premier League and was part of the Gujarat Titans in an IPL winning squad. His intent in the powerplay will be useful for this team in getting the Warriors off to a good start. No stranger to the UAE, he lit up the Abu Dhabi T10 in 2021/22, scoring 343 runs at a rate of 214.37.
Marcus Stoinis was a late addition to the Warriors squad. The Australian is one of the biggest hitters in the business, something his strike rate – around the 135-mark – doesn't do justice to. Capable of opening the batting (his regular role with Melbourne Stars) or coming in in the middle order (Australia), he is playing himself into form in the Big Bash and memorably scored 59 runs off just 18 balls against Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup.
Anchor
In 2022, Dawid Malan won both the T20 World Cup with England and The Hundred with Trent Rockets. He gets a lot of stick for being a slow scorer but has shown his expansive side in recent months – in The Hundred, he scored a competition-leading 377 runs at a strike rate of 166.81, including four half-centuries. Expect him to take a beat to get his eye in before ramping up the boundaries.
Finisher
Chris Benjamin burst onto the scene during the inaugural edition of The Hundred, scoring 112 runs at a rate of 136.58 and hasn't disappointed since. He's a fine player of spin and has a career strike rate in excess of 140.
Birmingham Phoenix teammate, Moeen, also excels in this department as does veteran allrounder Mohammad Nabi. There's scarcely a franchise tournament that the Afghanistan international hasn't tried his hand at and while he has struggled for form of late, his figures – 5,223 runs at a rate of 137.48, including 360 fours and 259 sixes – speak for themselves. A match-winner on his day.
Problem areas
For Sharjah Warriors, the problem is not what they are missing but who they choose to leave out of the XI. The players mentioned above only scratch the surface of their batting arsenal, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Joe Denly, and Paul Walter also at their disposal. Certain players may be forced to play out of position and in order to accommodate enough bowlers, there could be a lot of firepower sitting idle.
Dawid Malan [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
BOWLING
Speed merchants
Junaid Siddique was thoroughly entertaining during the T20 World Cup and surely has the UAE spot in the XI sewn up. When he wasn't smashing 108-metre sixes against Sri Lanka, he was bowling with good pace and control. The 30-year-old right-arm medium pacer picked up 3 for 24 against the Netherlands and finished the tournament with four wickets and an economy of 7.91. Handy in the powerplay and middle overs.
Chris Woakes, another member of England's victorious squad, is Mr Consistent when it comes to line and length and has almost 150 T20 wickets to his name. He's not quick but is a reliable and canny operator.
Naveen-ul-Haq, who picked up 10 wickets and maintained an economy of 7.43 for Team Abu Dhabi during the recent Abu Dhabi T10, is the other bowler to watch.
Variation
Karthik Meiyappan is another UAE international who enjoyed himself in Australia in 2022. He memorably took a hat-trick against Sri Lanka and has taken 22 wickets from 14 T20s with his right-arm leg-break.
Afghanistan international, Noor Ahmad, meanwhile, adds further variation. The 17-year-old wrist-spinner already has 50 T20 appearances to his name, yielding 46 wickets, and impressed on his international debut with figures of 4 for 10 against Zimbabwe.
Moeen and Nabi offer additional depth.
Problem areas
Sharjah Warriors should be congratulated for producing such a well-rounded squad, with strong options with both spin and seam.
If we're being picky, swing bowler Bilal Khan (Oman) is the sole left-arm bowler in the pace attack. An out-and-out pacer also wouldn't go amiss either.
Junaid Siddique [Martin Keep/Getty Images]
Who takes the gloves?
Gurbaz will be the first choice with the gloves, fulfilling that role in 30 of his 35 T20I appearances for Afghanistan. Across his T20 career, he has taken 60 catches and completed nine stumpings. Benjamin and Kohler-Cadmore can step in behind the stumps if required.
Squad: Moeen Ali (c), Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Chris Benjamin, Mark Deyal, Bilal Khan, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Jawadullah, Marcus Stoinis, Jamal Todd, Joe Denly, Paul Walter
Possible starting XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dawid Malan, Evin Lewis, Moeen Ali, Chris Benjamin, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Woakes, Junaid Siddique, Noor Ahmad, Bilal Khan
Fixtures: January 14 – MI Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm GMT), January 15 – Desert Vipers (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 17 – MI Emirates (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm), January 21 – Dubai Capitals (Dubai International Stadium, 10am), January 23 – Gulf Giants (Dubai International Stadium, 2pm), January 26 – Dubai Capitals (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm), January 28 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 10am), January 31 – Desert Vipers (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm), February 4 – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 2pm), February 6 – Gulf Giants (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 2pm)
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