ILT20: Sharjah Warriors appoint Moeen Ali as captain, Paul Farbrace as head coach

The star English all-rounder Moeen Ali has been appointed as captain of Sharjah Warriors for the inaugural edition of the International League T20. The franchise also announced the appointment of Paul Farbrace as their head coach for the first edition which is scheduled to start in January 2023.

Moeen is currently leading Morrisville Samp Army in the ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 League 2022 and has also captained England in the white-ball matches in the absence of regular skipper Jos Buttler. Moeen stated that he is honored and pleased to lead Sharjah Warriors in the first edition of the tournament and also talked about his excitement for playing at the iconic Sharjah Stadium.

"It is a great honour and would be a pleasure to lead Sharjah Warriors. In this format, anybody can beat anybody, and it is important to keep evolving. With the team at our disposal, we can play aggressive, yet sensible cricket and hopefully be in the mix towards the business end of the ILT20. Playing at world-class facilities and especially the iconic Sharjah Stadium is a very exciting prospect, and we are all looking forward to it," Moeen Ali said.

Paul Farbrace enjoyed big success as head coach with the Sri Lankan team by winning the 2014 T20 World Cup and Asia Cup 2014. He also served as an assistant coach for England men's team under the former head coaches Peter Moores and Trevor Bayliss. On his appointment, Farbrace said that he is hoping to inspire future generations and to generate local interest with Sharjah Warriors.

"The T20 format has been challenging and yet most rewarding, It is nice to see talent from around the world getting more opportunities. I am aware of how cricket is followed here as an extension of the subcontinent. I hope we can work some magic here to inspire future generations and even generate local interest," Paul Farbrace said on joining the Sharjah franchise. 

Apart from Farbrace, Matthew Maynard is appointed as the batting coach and G Jayakumar as the bowling coach by the Sharjah franchise on Thursday (December 1).