Desert Vipers

Desert Vipers

League	International League T20
Personnel
Captain	Lockie Ferguson
Coach	James Foster
Owner	Avram Glazer
Team information
Colours	Red and Black
Founded	2023;2 years ago (2023)
Home ground	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Capacity	16,000
History
Twenty20 debut	v. Sharjah Warriors at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai; 15 January 2023
Official website	Desert Vipers
T20 kit

The Desert Vipers is a professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that plays in the Emirati International League T20 (ILT20). It was one of the six teams that were announced for the inaugural season. It was founded in 2022, and currently owned by the Lancer Capital LLC. ^[1]

The team's chief executive officer is Phil Oliver; the cricket director is Tom Moody. The team is coached by James Foster and captained by Lockie Ferguson. The Vipers were the runners-up of the first season of the tournament, finished 5th in Season 2, and were runners-up again in Season 3. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

In August 2022, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) announced the establishment of the International League T20, to be started in 2023. The teams for the competition, representing three different cities of the United Arab Emirates, and three general teams which were not tied exclusively to one city, were put up on auction in UAE in September 2022. The franchise was purchased by Manchester United FC CEO Avram Glazer. The team unveiled their name Desert Vipers, logo and jersey in January 2023, through their social media handles.

Current squad

As of 24 November 2025 ^[5]

• Players with international caps are listed in bold.

Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Year	Notes
Batsmen
Tom Bruce	Scotland	(1991-08-02) 2 August 1991 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2025
Dan Lawrence	England	(1997-07-12) 12 July 1997 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2025
Shimron Hetmyer	West Indies	(1996-12-26) 26 December 1996 (age 28)	Left-handed	Right-arm leg break	2025
Max Holden	England	(1997-12-18) 18 December 1997 (age 27)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	2025
Hassan Nawaz	Pakistan	(2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	2025
Faisal Khan	Saudi Arabia	(1996-11-02) 2 November 1996 (age 29)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2025
Bilal Tahir	Kuwait	(1998-05-31) 31 May 1998 (age 27)	Left-handed	Leg break	2025
Fakhar Zaman	Pakistan	(1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 35)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	2025
All-rounders
Sam Curran	England	(1998-06-03) 3 June 1998 (age 27)	Left-handed	Left-arm medium-fast	2023
Wanindu Hasaranga	Sri Lanka	(1997-07-29) 29 July 1997 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	2023
Wicket-keepers
Vriitya Aravind	United Arab Emirates	(2002-06-11) 11 June 2002 (age 23)	Right-handed		2025
Andries Gous	United States	(1993-11-24) 24 November 1993 (age 32)	Right-handed		2025
Pace bowlers
Lockie Ferguson (capt)	New Zealand	(1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	2025
Sanjay Pahal	India	(1993-06-29) 29 June 1993 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	2025
David Payne	England	(1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 (age 34)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	2025
Faridoon Dawoodzai	Afghanistan	(2005-11-26) 26 November 2005 (age 19)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast	2025
Naseem Shah	Pakistan	(2003-02-15) 15 February 2003 (age 22)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	2025
Matiullah Khan	United Arab Emirates	(1993-03-01) 1 March 1993 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2025
Khuzaima Tanveer	United Arab Emirates	(1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 (age 25)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast	2025
Spin bowlers
Qais Ahmad	Afghanistan	(2000-08-15) 15 August 2000 (age 25)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	2025

Statistics

Season summary

Season	League standing	Final standing
2023	2nd out of 6	Runner Up
2024	5th out of 6	League Stage
2025	1st out of 6	Runner Up
Last Updated: 11 February 2025

Administration and support staff

Position	Name
CEO	Phil Oliver
Director of cricket	Tom Moody
Head coach	James Foster
Batting coach	Neil McKenzie
Fast bowling coach	Azhar Mahmood
Spin bowling coach	Carl Crowe
Fielding coach	Simon Helmot

• Source ^{[6] [7]}

Sustainability

The Desert Vipers became the first cricket franchise in the world to make their full season carbon footprint public, when they published their Season 1 footprint of 573 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2023. In Season 2, they hosted their first 'Sustainability Match', which aimed to celebrate their achievements to date and trial new sustainability initiatives. They are Dubai's first signatory to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, and they have committed to Net Zero by 2040.

References

1. "Desert Vipers Team". thedesertvipers. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
2. "Desert Vipers Team UAE ILT20 2024 Squad, Players list, Captain, Coach ,International League T20 (ILT20) 2024". india cricket schedule. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
3. "International League T20, 2023 Desert Vipers Squad, Owner, Dev Rai Captain". sportsunfold. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
4. "Retained by the Desert Vipers, Rohan Mustafa also hopes to retain his role as opener in season two of the DP World ILT20". thedesertvipers. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
5. "Squad". The Desert Vipers. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
6. "DP World ILT20 Season 2 to be played between 19 January to 18 February 2024". ilt20.ae. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
7. "Gulf Giants, Sharjah Warriors to play ILT20 opener on January 19". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-11-02.