Sharjah: Moeen Ali, vice-captain of the World Cup-winning England Twenty20 team, has been named captain of the Sharjah Warriors in the inaugural UAE International League T20, while former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace as the coach of the Capri Global-owned franchise.
“It is a great honour and would be a pleasure to lead Sharjah Warriors,” said Ali, who was also part of the England side which won the 50-over World Cup in 2019. “In this format, anybody can beat anybody, and it is important to keep evolving. With the team at our disposal, we can play aggressive, yet sensible cricket and, hopefully, be in the mix towards the business end of the ILT20. Playing at world-class facilities and, especially the iconic Sharjah Stadium, is a very exciting prospect, and we are all looking forward to it.”
Rewarding experience
Former England assistant coach Farbrace will be instrumental on the strategic front and both him and Moeen are no strangers to the UAE.
“The T20 format has been challenging and yet most rewarding,” said Farbrace, who had helped Sri Lanka win the 2014 Asia Cup and the ICC World T20 trophy in the same year. Often considered a T20 magician, he briefly served as England’s interim national coach amid stints as deputy to Peter Moores and Trevor Bayliss and mentored some of England’s current World T20 winning crop over the last decade.
Inspiring future generations
“It is nice to see talent from around the world getting more opportunities. I am aware of how cricket is followed here as an extension of the subcontinent. I hope we can work some magic here to inspire future generations and even generate local interest.”
Rajesh Sharma, Founder Director, Capri Global Holdings said: “Under Farbrace, we have the right resources to pack a punch in a league full of established players. With the team shaping up as it is, we are confident our Warriors can build memories with the ILT20 and Sharjah, which has a beautiful relationship in cricketing history.”
Farbrace’s batting right hand will be another Former England assistant coach and
Glamorgan great Matthew Maynard will be the batting coach while manning the bowling department will be former Kerala fast bowler G. Jayakumar, former India fielding coach R. Sridhar as Director of Cricket and a young Chief Operating Officer in Kshemal Waingankar. The UAE’s flagship tournament in the shortest format will be played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and will kick off on January 13.
