ILT20 will soon become one of the toughest leagues, says Mohammad Amir

The tournament has already produced some fascinating battles in the second season

By Team KT

Published: Wed 31 Jan 2024, 11:48 AM

Desert Vipers’ left arm pacer Mohammad Amir was on fire against the MI Emirates, helping his side register a thrilling win with a three-wicket haul in the ILT20 on Tuesday.

The Desert Vipers won the last-ball thriller by two wickets at the Dubai International Stadium.

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The tournament has already produced some fascinating battles in the second season and Amir believes it will get bigger and bigger, which will also help the local talent in the UAE.

“There are 18 international players competing with each other in every game, and I think in the coming days it will become one of the toughest leagues," the Pakistan star said.

"I am really happy for the UAE local players, as they are performing well, and that is a good thing for UAE cricket.”

Amir, who bagged three wickets for 26 runs in his quota of four overs on Tuesday, dismissed the dangerous Kusal Perera for 0, and followed it up with the scalps of Tim David and Trent Boult in the last over of the innings, to restrict the MI Emirates to 149.

"I got three wickets, so that feels good for sure, but most importantly, the team won the game, and this performance is definitely going to help my confidence, and I hope to continue in this form going ahead in the tournament,” Amir said.

Amir, who was named player of the match, is one of the senior players in the ILT20, and has paired up with the sensational Shaheen Shah Afridi at the Desert Vipers.

“Bowling with Shaheen is great and I think he is also enjoying it. Bowling is also all about partnerships, and the best part is that we communicate a lot about the conditions and the game in between the overs as well. Shaheen is a good bowler, and it helps to be able to share our experiences with each other,” he said.

“He is running in well when he is bowling, Shaheen is running in fast, and his strength is that he bowls brilliantly with the new ball. Shaheen gets the new ball to swing and when he bowls full, he gets chances to pick wickets.”

The Vipers won the game off the final delivery off the game, when Afridi slashed hard at a Trent Boult delivery to get his team over the line.

“Shaheen played a very good innings at the end to help us win the game, and he has also been working hard on his batting. I think this was the best game of the DP World ILT20 so far,” Amir said.

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