Dubai
\nThe DP World ILT20 continues to strengthen its standing as a competitive global T20 league while playing a key role in the development of UAE and regional cricketers, according to former New Zealand international and DP World ILT20 commentator Simon Doull.
\n\u201cThe standard in general has been great, and it\u2019s getting better year-on-year. That\u2019s one of the things that\u2019s impressed me most,\u201d he observed.
\nDoull, who has been associated with the DP World ILT20 since the inaugural season, also credited the tournament for accelerating the growth of local talent. \u201cThe standard of the local players is lifting, courtesy of being part of this tournament over the last two or three years. We\u2019re seeing more of them being trusted with important roles, and that\u2019s a real positive from this season,\u201d Doull said.
\nDoull highlighted the progress of pacer Khuzaima Tanveer, noting his rapid rise this season. \u201cFrom a bowling point of view, I\u2019ve been really impressed with Khuzaima Tanveer. He\u2019s a guy I hadn\u2019t seen much of before, but he\u2019s got all the attributes to be a good international bowler when that time comes. He\u2019s got good pace, good variations, and he\u2019s used the facilities really well. He\u2019s been a big part of why the Desert Vipers have been so strong this season,\u201d he said.
\nDoull pointed to consistent contributions from the experienced players. \u201cYou always look to your top-order players, and from my point of view Muhammad Waseem [335 runs and top scorer] has been very good again,\u201d he said, before adding, \u201cFrom an all-rounder point of view, Sam Curran [323 runs] has been the standout for me. He\u2019s contributed with both bat and ball, has seven wickets in the tournament and is scoring runs again.\u201d
\nOn the tournament\u2019s positioning within the global calendar, the former fast bowler felt the timing and structure have worked strongly in its favour. \u201cI love the tournament. The window this year has been critical. It\u2019s a great time of year to play and fits nicely into the calendar. I think it will only continue to improve,\u201d he noted.
\nDoull welcomed the league\u2019s expanding regional footprint, particularly the inclusion of one player from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in each franchise. \u201cThe league started with a focus on developing UAE players, and now it\u2019s expanding into regional growth. Being involved with franchises, training around experienced players, and taking that learning back home is crucial for lifting standards,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cPlayers must earn their spots. But standards won\u2019t improve unless they\u2019re included in some way. Over the next few years, you might see more opportunities coming as that development continues.\u201d
\nDoull also praised the DP World ILT20 Player Development Initiative, which brought in seven African cricketers into franchise environments this season, for potentially impacting the broader ecosystem in the continent.
\n\u201cFor any young player who gets that opportunity, being able to train alongside international stars like Kieron Pollard, Phil Salt, Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone is massive. You pick their brains, have conversations after net sessions about what it takes to get a wicket against that type of player, and you take that knowledge and experience back with you to help others improve.\u201d
\nDubai Capitals\u2019 Waqar Salamkheil has emerged as the top wicket-taker (17 wickets) and his left-arm wrist spin has put him on track to win the White Belt (Best Bowler) for a second time. Doull was encouraged by the continued relevance of spin bowling in the T20 format.
\n\u201cWe once thought T20 cricket might be the death of spin, but that hasn\u2019t been the case at all. Every franchise wants quality wrist spin, and these grounds are a great size to utilise it properly,\u201d he remarked.
\nThe top five run-getters this season have strike-rates below 135. Referencing this trend, Doull underlined the importance of cricketing awareness in modern T20 batting \u201cIt\u2019s all about situational awareness. In the first innings, strike-rate is vital. In a chase, if you win the game, it doesn\u2019t bother me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dubai The DP World ILT20 continues to strengthen its standing as a competitive global T20 league while playing a key role in the development of UAE and regional cricketers, according to former New Zealand international and DP World ILT20 commentator Simon Doull. \u201cThe standard in general has been great, and it\u2019s getting better year-on-year. That\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":91776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91778,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91766\/revisions\/91778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}