Babar Azam roped in by Desert Vipers for maiden ILT20 stint

DUBAI: Babar Azam will make his International League T20 (ILT20) debut for Desert Vipers after the franchise signed the star Pakistan batter for USD 80,000 at the players' auction for the fifth edition of the league, underway here at ICC Academy Indoors on Thursday.

Babar, who was among the 18 Global Cricket Icons – the top bracket with a base price of USD 80,000 – received a bid from the Vipers, whom a handful of Pakistan cricketers have represented in the recent editions of the league.

Since the Vipers did not get any rival bid for Babar, they got to acquire the services of the 31-year-old batter, who has represented Pakistan in 143 T20Is during his glittering international career.

Babar also brings in a wealth of experience featuring in franchise leagues, having played in the Big Bash League (BBL), England's T20 Blast, Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Overall, Babar has thus far played 359 T20s, in which he accumulated 12493 runs at a magnificent average of 42.78 and a decent strike rate of 129.04. He also has 13 centuries and 101 fifties in the shortest format.

Vipers, which has been the host of the Pakistan players over the years, added two more players from the country to their arsenal by snapping up experienced top-order batter Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah from the same bracket, also for USD 80,000 each.

Both Naseem and Fakhar have represented the Vipers in the past. The pacer has played eight matches for the franchise, while the left-handed batter has turned up in 21 games.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Usman Tariq, who was also in the top bracket, initially went unsold as the mystery spinner failed to attract any bid for his base price of USD 80,000. The 28-year-old, however, may land a bid in the accelerated round of the auction.

It is pertinent to mention that the fifth edition of the ILT20 will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 22 to December 20.