Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody believes the franchise has every right to dream of becoming the first side to retain the DP World ILT20 title after the list of retained players and direct signings ahead of Season 5 were revealed on Tuesday.
The Vipers have kept hold of USA opening batter and wicketkeeper Andries Gous, West Indies batting powerhouse Shimron Hetmyer and England all-rounder Dan Lawrence.
And the side has supplemented that trio by signing Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the franchise’s direct signing and someone with previous experience of the league with the Gulf Giants in Season 2.
Speaking on the Vipers Voices podcast, Moody said the foundations had been laid for building a squad capable of winning the title for a second-year running.
“I think it is worth starting to dream about it (going back-to-back with DP World ILT20 titles),” he said. “I think there is no reason why we cannot (do it). The team that are behind the scenes that helped pull things together in the GSL (ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League and the title-winning DP World ILT20 Season 4), that team still exists.
“They are high calibre individuals that are outstanding at what they do. So, what we have got is a very strong team that will build, again, a very competitive team and a culture that people want to be a part of and be associated with.
“And that is generally the beginning and the most important recipe to success.”
Leading the retained players is USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, who has been in scintillating form with four half-centuries and one century in his last 10 matches, across Major League Cricket in the United States, the GSL and now the Caribbean Premier League.
“Andreas is arguably the best Associate player in the world,” Moody said. “And he is proving that time and time again with his performances. He is an elite player, and he is a dual-skill player. He offers a lot behind the stumps, as much as the impact that he does in the top-order.
“And the other part to him is the fact that he is not only dynamic as an opening batter, but he has the ability, and he has shown this in other tournaments, to be effective as a middle-order player. So, he is a very versatile player, and a player that we have got high regard for as a person as well. He is a great character.
“He shows a natural sort of leadership capability, and they are the type of people we want at the Desert Vipers, people that are only going to make our environment, both on and off the field, richer.”
Dan Lawrence has shown his worth to the Vipers with bat and also ball time and again across his association with the franchise, and Moody said he saw great value in having him on the squad.
“Dan is obviously a premium top-order batter,” Moody said. “He can bat (in) most places, but where he is very effective for us is in the middle order. His understanding and reading of the game is exceptional. His ability to work through the gears as a batsman is also something that we have got a huge amount of respect for.
“As a bowler, he provides us great variety. He is a traditional off-spinner with an untraditional (unorthodox) approach (to) bowling off-spin, if I could put it that way. He is certainly very effective and again, he gives us that sort of all-round talent that gives us flexibility when we are building a playing eleven.”
Lawrence has recently been included in England’s Test squad for the series against Pakistan in August and September, after a successful first-class season for Surrey, scoring five hundreds – one of them a double.
That could have the possibility to affect the player’s availability for Season 5, something that Moody acknowledged.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Dan Lawrence has found himself back in England colours,” said the Director of Cricket. “He had a brief taste of it a couple of years ago in a different role at the top of the order, which is probably not where you would see him long-term as a Test cricketer.
“Certainly, in the middle order, he is someone that you would see have a long future and a very effective future as a Test player. So, we are thrilled that he has got that opportunity. It is something that we had not considered when we were building our squad.
“The timing of his inclusion, and whether he is available for part, or all, or none of the (DP World) ILT20 this year, it is something that we need to be nimble enough to react accordingly. Replacing a player, if that is the case, of his calibre is never easy.
“Something that we are very proud of at the Desert Vipers is that we love to share the journey with players and see them not only play well for us but go on to bigger and better things. And, for him, playing for his country is pretty special.”
Moody added that Shimron Hetmyer was an easy retention to make, given his extraordinary ability, and while his first season with the Vipers was not as successful as the player would have liked, and was shortened by a hamstring injury, Moody believed Hetmyer would be hungry for runs.
“I think players of Shimron’s capability are pretty rare,” he said. “Your supply and demand when it comes to those power hitters, those finishers, and particularly left-handed finishers, there are not too many of them around world cricket.
“We certainly treasure what he brings to the table from a cricketing perspective. We certainly hope he is going to be fully fit and healthy throughout the whole tournament this year. And he has got a point to prove as well.”
Moody said he had worked with Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the past and was confident the spinner, one of a select group with more than 300 Twenty20 wickets to his name, would bring a lot of added value to the Vipers line-up.
“I have had the good fortune to work with Mujeeb before and know what he is like as a bowler, know what he is like as a person and a character,” he said. “And those things, I think, mean he is a perfect fit for the Desert Vipers.
“Mujeeb certainly fits that personality that we want. He is a high-calibre spin bowler. He is not in that Afghan setup on a regular basis, because you look at who they have got to choose from. And I think players like himself could walk into any international side and have an impact. It is as simple as that.
“At the moment in the cycle of Afghanistan cricket, there are multiple world-class spin bowlers that they have to choose from so I think it is a bonus that he will be available, certainly without any international disruptions.
“I think it is a bonus that because of the new regulations around Afghanistan players in the (DP World) ILT20 this year, where you have got to have four in your squad and two have to play, that we have secured a world-class spinner in Mujeeb. And so we are one step closer to building the foundation pillars to our squad for this coming season.”
Notable absentees from the retention list include Season 3 and 4 captain Lockie Ferguson, the New Zealand fast bowler, Season 4 Player of the Tournament and England all-rounder Sam Curran and top-order England Lions batter Max Holden. Tom Moody explained why they, along with several other key players who have been an integral part of the Desert Vipers line-up, were not retained.
“The league has made some changes to the retention rules and what it looks like for next season along with the number of players you need from various parts of the cricketing world,” he said.
“There are four players from Afghanistan, there is one Irish player, there is an Associate player. And then you have got your four UAE players, and a Kuwaiti and a Saudi (Arabian) player.
“So, once you list that number (of players), suddenly maintaining the identity of the Desert Vipers becomes very challenging.
“Sam Curran, Max Holden, Lockie Ferguson – there are a number of players that are very much a part of that (Desert Vipers identity). You think about a Desert Vipers squad (and) you associate those names with it.
“Sam had decided that he wanted a break this year during that window. He has got, obviously, a huge workload of cricket on his plate. He is also starting to play more for England again. He had a period of time where he was out of the England setup (but) there has now been talk around him being reintroduced into the Test side as well. So I think he is looking just to manage his workload.
“I do not think it is the end of his association with us in the future, but certainly this year he has decided to step away.
“With Max, that is a difficult one because obviously he has been a great servant, a good contributor to us on a consistent basis.
“But again, some players like Max and others that have had a connection with us, including all of our UAE players, we will be very mindful (of that) when it comes to auction day to how we want to construct our team and what it looks like with regards to the people that have been part of our journey.”
Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, who made his franchise debut with the Desert Vipers in 2025, has been one of the finds of the DP World ILT20, with 24 wickets from his first two seasons.
He, along with all UAE players, will go into October’s auction with no UAE retentions allowed by any franchise under league regulations.
Tom Moody said it was unfortunate not to have the opportunity to retain Khuzaima or any of the UAE players ahead of that auction.
“Khuzaima is part of the fabric of who we are at Desert Vipers and not to have been able to retain him has been disappointing.”
