Dubai: Former New Zealand spin wizard Daniel Vettori is confident his team Sagittarius Strikers, led by former Australian star keeper Adam Gilchrist, will be able to put up a great show in the inaugural Masters Champions League.
Vettori, whose side is scheduled for their first practice session on Wednesday, was of the view the presence of Gilchrist and Mahela Jayawardene make their team formidable in the tournament.
“I’m sure everyone will be excited to see Gilchrist and Jayawardene. Mahela recently played in the Big Bash. Those two guys are going to be key for us,” said Vettori. Now the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash league, Vettori was also hoping that his former teammate Shane Bond was in the best shape to giving enough depth to their pace attack.
“It will also be interesting to see if Bond could hit the kind of pace he is renowned for. I know he has been training pretty hard back home. I think that is what everyone wants to see; some former greats and how their game stacks up now,” the 36-year-old said.
“Very fit as you can see. I am still playing for Warwickshire. We have been in pre-season training since October, playing indoors and outdoors when the English winter permits us. We are all very excited about coming here and preparing for a new T20 event, meeting our new teammates,” Vettori said.
The team also have home flavour in UAE skipper Khurram Khan, who was confident the tournament would do a world of good for sport in the country.
“Definitely, this tournament stands out. Through MCL, we have been going to different schools and we have been interacting with kids and telling them about cricket. I think they are also excited about the legends coming here and playing cricket in front of them. All this is going to help promote cricket here,” the 44-year-old said.
