ILT20: UAE players Rohan Mustafa, Ronak Panoly eager to play with Hasaranga

ILT20: UAE players Rohan Mustafa, Ronak Panoly eager to play with Hasaranga

Emirati cricketers Rohan Mustafa and Ronak Panoly look forward to meeting Sri Lankan star spinner Wa Wanindu Hasaranga brushes shoulders and asks for advice.

Dubai: Emirati cricketers Rohan Mustafa and Ronak Panoly look forward to meeting Sri Lankan star spinner Wa Wanindu Hasaranga brushes shoulders and asks for advice.

Rohan and Ronak, both part of the Desert Vipers, will play their opening game against the Sharjah Warriors at the Dubai International Stadium on January 15.

“I’m really looking forward to playing alongside Colin Munro. I played with him at Global T20 Canada and he was our captain there. I’m also looking forward to playing with Wanindu Hasaranga because he’s the best player in the world. One of the best leg-turners,” said top batsman Mustafa, who has 1,249 runs in 71 T20 career appearances so far.

Panoli, on the other hand, is an all-rounder who has represented the UAE in the ICC U19 World Cup.

“I want to be with Alex Hales and try to learn from him because he’s such an explosive opener. I want to incorporate some aspects of his game into my own. I also want to To face Wanindu Hasaranga at the net because that would be a really good challenge,” Roanker told a media conference.

Asked how he got into cricket, Mustafa said: “I started playing cricket in 2003 and my father wanted me to play the sport. I played for the domestic team. Later, I performed well in the U19 tour, which helped me find a place in the national team in 2014.”

At the same time, Panoly said he started playing the game with a plastic bat.

“Cricket has always been a big thing for me because I come from an Indian family. I started playing the game with plastic bats and then I decided to make the sport a career. Find a place in the DP World ILT20 team,” he said.

The two cricketers also spoke about their reactions when they learned they would be competing in the ILT20.

“I was really happy when I knew I was going to play for the Desert Vipers in the World ILT20. It’s such a big team with so many big names. It’s my dream because everyone wants to Playing in a major league like this. When you play for this type of team, you get opportunities from other teams,” Mustafa said.

Panoly said he was very grateful for the opportunity, “When I heard about DP World ILT20, I was really excited. I knew I had to work hard to get selected by the team. Then when the Desert Vipers offered a spot, I was really excited. I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”

ILT20, which debuts on January 13, promises to be an intense competition, with some of the greatest cricketing superstars on the planet heading to the UAE to kick off the league. The league will be played in a 34-match format at the UAE’s world-class cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Franchise teams consist of over 100 international players and 24 Emirati players, including Abu Dhabi Knights Group (Knight Riders Group), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline) , MI UAE (Reliance Industries) and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).