High praise for ILT20 find Khuzaima: ‘If there’s a better fast bowler in the country, I’d like to see them’

Former teacher who helped unearth new gem for Desert Vipers hopes the franchise can assist with development of UAE cricket

Khuzaima Tanveer took four wickets and was named player of the match on his Desert Vipers debut. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A former teacher, who spent the first season of the DP World International League T20 trying to get his students to attend matches, was to thank for discovering one of the outstanding new players of Season 3.

Khuzaima Tanveer grabbed the attention of cricket lovers midway through the latest campaign of the UAE’s franchise tournament.

He was unknown ahead of his debut for Desert Vipers against Sharjah Warriorz. By the end of that match, he had four wickets, a player of the match trophy, and had conducted three TV interviews, including with the great Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis.

By the end of the tournament, he had a runner-up medal, and the endorsement of one of the world’s leading fast bowlers. Lockie Ferguson, the Vipers captain, said he envied Khuzaima’s bowling action.

The Pakistan-born newcomer’s emergence came about by chance, when he was bowling in a low-key domestic tournament. The opposing batter happened to be Jack Luffman, the development lead for the Vipers.

“I was opening the batting against him and I thought, ‘Oh dear, I might be getting a bit too old for this,’” Luffman said.

Luffman played minor counties cricket in the UK before moving to Dubai to take up a teaching job. It was in his role as the head of sixth form at a GEMS school that he was asked to help spread the word about the new franchise league in 2023.

That included giving out Desert Vipers shirts and hats, as well as tickets to their matches. He stayed in close contact with the franchise, and, as a Level 3 qualified cricket coach, was offered a role as part of their plan to lay down roots.

He left his teaching job last year to work full time with the Vipers’ schools and development programme.

“Getting a full-time role in cricket was too good an offer to turn down,” Luffman said. “It has its risks because we are in professional sport, and I was going from a fairly stable job within education.

“We want to be a franchise that is here for 12 months of the year, not just for four or five weeks. That is not a criticism [of the other teams]. It is just the nature of the T20 merry-go-round.”

Luffman also plays amateur cricket for the club he helped found, Dubai Wanderers. It was while playing for them that he first encountered Khuzaima, who was newly arrived from Pakistan.

With the endorsement of his Wanderers teammates, Arron Lilley and Jordan Clark, who both have experience of county cricket, he closely monitored Khuzaima’s progress.

Tanish Suri, left, and Jack Luffman at training with the Desert Vipers development squad.

“It is not just about ability,” Luffman said. “[The Vipers] are really big on the environment we create. You have to be a certain type of player.

“What struck us about Khuzaima was, other than the fact he bowls quick, is strong, can field and hold the bat, is that he is a really, really nice kid.

“He wants to ask questions and learn. He looks after himself, does extra stretches before warm ups, and does cool downs afterwards, even between innings.

“It became obvious he was someone we needed to go for in the main draft [ahead of ILT20 Season 3]. We were delighted to get him. We are really excited about what he can bring to the Vipers and UAE cricket.

“Like Tom Moody [Vipers’ director of cricket] said, if there is a better fast bowler in the country than him, I would like to see them.”

Ferguson, the New Zealand fast bowler, echoed that sentiment.

“Khuzaima has been a real stand out,” Ferguson said. “The way he has gone about his training from the very beginning of the tournament shows he is constantly trying to get better.

Khuzaima Tanveer bowls for Desert Vipers during the final of the DP World International League T20 against Dubai Capitals. Photo: ILT20

“I love his bowling action. I wish mine looked as pretty as that. He is very young in terms of a fast-bowling career, but his skill set is exceptional.

“Even in the short time he has been in this tournament we have seen him grow and grow, including in the [qualifier play-off against the Warriorz] when he bowled a beautiful last over.

“He is an exciting prospect for UAE in terms of international cricket and I think he is going to have a lot of success in the future.”

Khuzaima had to bide his time until he got his chance in the tournament. The game against the Warriorz in which he debuted was the Vipers’ sixth of the season.

Luffman said he was thrilled for the 25-year-old quick, who will have to wait for around a year and a half to be eligible for selection for the UAE via the ICC’s residency criteria.

“I saw him that morning at breakfast, and he thanked me,” Luffman said.

“He calls everybody ‘sir’. To see him doing so well in that first game and beyond, it shows he has pace, he is a fit, strong boy, he has skills, and he has bottle, which goes a long way at this level.

“We are really excited by what he can do. He seemed to rush everybody, even some of the world’s best players. Now they know who he is, which is his next challenge when he plays against them.

“But that day in Sharjah, I was absolutely delighted for him, a little like a proud dad.”