LT20 was my first taste of cricket with world-class players, says UAE pacer Jawadullah

From time to time, we come across stories of seemingly unheard talents popping up and rising up the ranks to catch everyone’s attention.

Muhammad Jawadullah, who was a regular in tennis ball cricket, was an unknown entity in the professional cricket circuit until he took part in a nation-wide talent hunt for bowlers in April 2022 organised under the watchful eyes of Robin Singh, the coach of the UAE national cricket team at that point in time.

Rest is history, as he went on to debut for the UAE national team in both ODI’s and T20I’s in 2023 and he credits his exposure in the DP World International League T20 for propelling his career.

"I went into the first edition of the DP World ILT20 without any experience. Once I got to play more and more games, it not only helped me build my confidence but the exposure even helped me in getting my first international cap for UAE in both ODI and T20I for the UAE. The learning process hasn’t stopped. I’m looking to get better with every passing day,” he said.

The 24-year-old left arm quick spoke about his first time on such a big stage with a great deal of delight. "The DP World ILT20 is a very big tournament and I was indeed fortunate to have been included in the Sharjah Warriors squad for the first edition. This was my first taste of cricket with world-class players. The feeling was surreal and will stay with me for life,” he said.

For the Season 2 of Gulf region’s biggest T20 League scheduled to begin on 19 January, Jawadullah has been retained by the Sharjah Warriors. He was part of the same franchise in the inaugural edition of the tournament where they finished fifth and will look to help the team better their performance in the forthcoming edition.

Jawadullah maintains that the DP World International League T20 is a massive platform to take off from. He said, "This is one of the best leagues going around and it is a ginormous opportunity for all the UAE players to leave a mark. A good tournament here can propel one’s career to the next level.”

Emphasizing his goals for the upcoming edition, Jawadullah said, "I obviously would love it if we can go on to win the tournament. At the same time, I would like to learn whatever I can from the senior players as well as all the international players coming in to play the league that can help me improve my game,” he said. "I’d also like to learn about the execution of out swing deliveries, slower balls and yorkers from the widely experienced cricketers whom I’ll be playing with,” he concluded.

The Sharjah Warriors boasts of world class players like Chris Woakes, Maheesh Theekshana, Daniel Sams and Johnson Charles while the Season 2 of DP World ILT20 will feature Australia’s World Cup hero David Warner, Andre Russell, David Willey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Alex Hales, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran among others. More than 100 international and 24 UAE players will feature in the tournament.

The DP World ILT20 will be a memorable occasion for all, the tournament final will be staged at the iconic ‘Ring of Fire’ Dubai International Stadium on Feb.17.