News DeskDubai, UAE – Desert Vipers’ UAE wicketkeeper-batter Tanish Suri is aiming to push Pakistan’s Azam Khan for the gloves in season three of the DP World ILT20.
Suri, one of two UAE players retained by the Vipers along with all-rounder Ali Naseer, made his Vipers debut last term when both Azam and Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal were unavailable because of international duty.
The 19-year-old acquitted himself well on either side of the stumps against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders before stepping back when the absent duo arrived.
And Suri told the Vipers Voices podcast that this season, with Azam back in the fold and Chandimal released, he wanted to push for further opportunities.
“If you see, we have only got two wicket keepers in the side this time,” he said.
“One is Azam Khan and the second one is me so I am just looking to improve my keeping skills, keep it simple and just wait for the chance.”
Suri’s debut came in whirlwind fashion when he was called into the Vipers squad to cover the absence of Azam and Chandimal, and reflecting on that time he said: “Neither of them were available because they had matches for their countries and that obviously took priority.
“It meant there was no other keeper as an option, so I had to start off with the first game.
“For me, there was a mixture of nervousness, anxiety and excitement as a youngster playing my first game, especially the Vipers’ opening game for the tournament.
“So I kept it cool and just stuck to the basics. I had a word with Fozzy (Head Coach James Foster), and all other staff members as well. They backed me up a lot and I think I am very grateful for that opportunity. It gave me a lot of confidence.”
The Knight Riders won the match by six wickets, but it provided Suri with the opportunity to keep to high-quality performers including Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, Sheldon Cottrell of the West Indies, Tymal Mills of England and Pakistan’s Mohammad Aamir.
“As a youngster it was very exciting for me that I was getting the opportunity to showcase my talent up there,” he said.
“I went in, in the last over, and hit the last ball of the innings for a boundary. I was very confident, I really wanted to go out to bat and I really knew that this is my chance to be grabbed, and I think I did have an impact.
“We made 164 and I think it was a decent total, but Andries Gous single-handedly made it for the Knight Riders (finishing with 95 not out from 50 balls). For me, my batting gave me a boost for wicketkeeping for the second innings and keeping to bowlers like Mohammad Amir, (Tymal) Mills, (Wanindu) Hasaranga and Sheldon Cottrell was a big thing for me as a youngster.
“I had never played with them before, but the coaches backed me up very much, so I was very confident, and the keeping went well as well, but unfortunately we lost the first game.”
Walking into the Vipers dressing room full of big names including Hasaranga, Mohammad Amir and Alex Hales, the tournament’s top run-scorer in season one, could have been a daunting experience for a young player but Suri said he settled in very quickly.
“At this level it is just the mental aspect of the game that is the key. It is true that before I was called (up) I was thinking about the big international stars and stuff like that, but when I actually started training with them it did not feel that big.
“I just kept things simple, went with the flow and it was great.”
Tanish also told Vipers Voices about how he benefitted from picking the brains of the two highly experienced wicket-keeper batters Azam Khan and Dinesh Chandimal: “I had a word with them about how they react to those big swings, late swings, and how their feet move.
“And the most important thing I got from them was how do they dealt with the pressure, because as international stars that they are, it is not always that things go positively as far as a result in your game goes.
“They told me that right now, as a youngster, I have got plenty of time so it is just for me to focus on my game, stick to my basics and keep it simple. Obviously, the pressure is always there and I just need to learn to cope up with that.”
Looking ahead, Suri said he was confident the team would perform well this season under new captain Lockie Ferguson: “We have got a great side and we did pretty well in season one. Season two did not go our way, but I think, looking to how good our squad is, we should go well and go strong this year.”
The Desert Vipers first match of the 2025 DP World ILT20 is on day two of the tournament, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, starting at 2pm.
