Pakistan leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan has been appointed Desert Vipers captain for this month’s ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League.
The 27-year-old replaces injured Australian all-rounder Chris Green in the role, and will lead the side in the five-team tournament, which begins on 23 July at Providence Stadium in Guyana. Joining the Vipers are hosts and defending champions the Guyana Amazon Warriors, plus the San Francisco Unicorns, the Lahore Qalandars and the Perth Scorchers.
Speaking to the Vipers Voices podcast, Shadab said he was excited to take on the captaincy but disappointed by Green’s withdrawal as the two formed a close bond playing alongside each other in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with Islamabad United.
“He (Chris Green) is a very good friend of mine and I am very sad for him because I know from my own experience how hard injuries can be,” said Shadab. “Greeny is the type of player you want on your team because he is someone who gives everything to the team.
“While I am happy to get the opportunity to lead the team, I am also sad for my friend.”
Shadab brings extensive captaincy experience, having led Islamabad United in the PSL in the past seven editions of the tournament, including their title-winning campaign in 2024, when he was named player of the tournament.
When asked about his leadership style, he said he believed in one-on-one conversations with players to help build their confidence.
“As a captain I think I do not chat much in the group, I prefer to have individual conversations with the players.
“I just feel it is important to give all the players the freedom to enjoy themselves because everyone is a professional and everyone has played a lot of cricket, especially the squad I have had under me (Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League) in the past. So, with that type of player you do not need to tell anyone what to do, you just need to have good communication skills and have individual conversations.
“I personally believe in focussing on the individual rather than the group, because when you give players clarity as individuals, that helps to build their confidence and self-belief.”
Shadab Khan said he most admired Ricky Ponting as a leader, a player who led Australia to two ICC Cricket World triumphs in 2003 and 2007, with both campaigns seeing his side remain unbeaten.
“I have always liked Ricky Ponting and I always heard good things about his leadership qualities,” said Shadab. “I think he is amazing and I am fortunate that I have met him and had chats with him about the game. His leadership skills can be seen even when he does cricket commentary because you can sense how he is far ahead of the game. So I always look up to him,” he added.
Shadab said he was also looking forward to working again with Desert Vipers GSL head coach Azhar Mahmood, who has had an important role in helping to steer Shadab’s career with both Islamabad United in the PSL and the Pakistan national team.
“I think our association began when I joined the Pakistan national team and he was our bowling coach,” he said. “So, we worked together for three to four years of my initial career.
“When I entered international cricket, I needed a mentor to show me the ropes and he was like a big brother who guided me and helped me negotiate that important period in my life. So, I have a big brother type of relationship with Azhar Mahmood.
“Then, when he returned as (Pakistan) head coach we had a very good relationship and the communication was great. We had some good conversations with each other, we have now worked together for over 10 years and it has been a really good run.”
Shadab is currently playing for Lancashire in the T20 Blast – ironically filling the spot vacated by the injured Chris Green – in England and Wales and he said the tournament was not just an end in itself but also a way of ensuring he was cricket-hardened for the GSL.
“It is always good to get momentum going into Twenty20 cricket, especially because I was playing ODIs (in a One-Day International series for Pakistan against Australia in Pakistan) before this. A Twenty20 tournament like this (the T20 Blast) is a type of competition where I can get momentum or form behind me before a GSL-type of a tournament, because the GSL is very short.
“You have to be spot on from the very first ball as a bowler or batter because you do not have much time to get back that momentum (with four group games in a week).
“The (T20) Blast is a difficult competition to play, especially because some grounds have small boundaries. As a batter I am fine, but as a bowler it is hard. Therefore, this is providing me with good preparation for the GSL.”
A key member of Pakistan’s national side, Shadab Khan has built an impressive international career, playing six Tests, 73 ODIs and 124 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), taking more than 200 wickets across formats for his country.
After shoulder surgery in July 2025 kept him out for several months, the leg-spinner completed a tough rehabilitation programme and made a strong return with Islamabad United in the PSL, scoring 173 runs at an impressive strike-rate from the lower middle order and taking 17 wickets, the third-highest tally in the tournament.
He said the injury has changed the way he approached the game.
“It was a good season in the PSL, individually and, as a team, we did well and I think everything is going so well (for me personally) this year.
“I think now I enjoy my cricket differently than how I did before my injury because when a major injury happens to a player and you come back after you have done your rehab and everything, (then) you know that playing is a bonus.
“I feel it is a bonus playing cricket now, because when I had the surgery and everything, I thought I would never be the same as before the injury, but in fact I am really enjoying my cricket a lot.
“I think when you come back in after injury at this stage it is more about the mental side of things. Obviously, you need skill, and obviously there is the physical side of things, but mostly it is about mental strength. I think after the injury there has been a change in my cricket, and I feel I am seeing the game differently now.”
Shadab said he was also keen to complete what he called “unfinished business” with the Desert Vipers. He played for the franchise in the DP World ILT20 in 2024, the only year when the team failed to qualify for the play-offs, and his personal form was also not at its peak.
“I think it was a disappointing season for me as well, because during that season I played maybe three or four games,” he said. “I did not do well or perform as I wanted to, and the team also did not qualify.
“The Vipers franchise is one of the best. Wherever they play, they are the best. Obviously, I have unfinished business with the Vipers as things did not go the way I had hoped the last time I played for the team.
“So hopefully, now in the GSL, I can show the Vipers fans how good I am and how good the Vipers team is both in the (DP World) ILT20 and around the world. Our Vipers have already done so well in the (DP World) ILT20 and hopefully that unfinished business will finish here.”
