UAE wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind is looking to use the upcoming DP World ILT20 to make his case for a recall to the national team in time for next year’s ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
The 23-year-old, who has been part of the MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals squads in past editions of the tournament, was the first player picked up by any franchise when the Vipers snapped him up.
And speaking with the Vipers Voices podcast, the player who moved to the UAE aged nine from Chennai, said the ultimate prize of a spot at the global event was the perfect incentive for him to do well for Lockie Ferguson’s side.
“What better motivation can a player have than playing in the World Cup?” he asked. “I think it is every cricketer’s dream.
“I was lucky enough to play the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022, but of course, I want to play the World Cup in 2026 and especially because it is happening in the country where my family is from.
“I think that will be unreal to go back to where I was born, to play cricket, representing the UAE in the World Cup. So the DP World ILT20 with the Desert Vipers will provide me with the opportunity to play some good cricket and put my name forward for that World Cup squad.”
Vriitya Aravind made his international debut in 2019 at the age of just seventeen and has played 63 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 48 T20 Internationals (T20Is) for the UAE.
But in 2025 he found himself on the outside looking in and this calendar year has only played two ODIs, with his most recent T20I appearance coming in January 2024.
Aravind said he was determined to regain his national spot through strong form in domestic tournaments, including the DP World ILT20.
And recently the right-hander put his best foot forward by being part of a championship-winning side, Sharjah, in the Emirates D20 tournament, where he was the highest run scorer with 466 runs.
Reflecting on his absence from the UAE team, Vriitya said his biggest takeaway was to never take his place in the national set-up for granted.
“I think for all cricketers, performances matter the most,” he said. “I think the more runs I score in domestic cricket and under the coach’s eyes in the practise games, that is what will get me back into the team.
“It has been tough for the past one year just because (until a year ago) I was a mainstay in the team from the time I made my debut and then, of course, not playing (was tough).
“But I think when blips like that happen, you learn more about the game. You know more about yourself.
“I think next time, when I get the opportunity, I will not take it for granted because I had a very smooth ride into the under-16s, the under-19s and then playing for the men’s T20I and ODI teams.
“I never really had a blip in my career and this is the first time I experienced it. So when that opportunity presents itself again I will value that way more than when I made my debut. So, I think the comeback is going to be stronger than when I actually made my debut, for sure.”
Vriitya, who has close to 2000 ODI runs and more than 1000 T20I runs under his belt, was not the first person to find out he had been picked by the Vipers at the auction. He said: “I had a bit of a time delay in the feed I was watching of the auction, so when my name came up my phone had already started blowing up because a couple of my friends and two of my coaches were actually at the venue of the auction, messaging me to let me know.
“When the phone went off I did not want to read my messages because I did not want to know. I wanted to have the whole thing to play out in real life. I wanted to experience it in person. But when the phone started ringing, I knew someone had bid for me.
“It was pretty exciting to see who it was. And it was Vipers.
“I think I was a bit nervous, of course. I would be lying if I did not admit that I was a bit nervous, especially because I have not played much cricket over the last one year with the national team.
“In the first two years (of the DP World ILT20), I kind of knew I would get picked because I had had two very good years in international cricket.
“But this year I played a bit in franchise tournaments and some club cricket. So, I felt this time, if someone picked me, it would be like reigniting the flame in me to play cricket again. It was pretty surreal that the Vipers did (pick me) and I think I will always be very loyal to the Vipers for doing that this year.”
Vriitya said he was excited about the Vipers team composition and certain the team can go on to lift the title for the first time this term.
“One hundred per cent I think the Vipers can win this year,” he said. “I am not just saying that because I am in the Vipers squad this year. It is because of the team balance we have got.
“We have got a very good mixture of youth and experience. And I think that is the recipe which any T20 team needs to succeed, especially in the way cricket is played these days.”
Vriitya said he was also excited about joining forces with the two players from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Faisal Khan and Bilal Tahir, who have now joined the squad as part of the DP World ILT20’s initiative to formally integrate regional cricketers into the league.
“I have played a couple of games against both of them,” he said. “I remember Bilal Tahir as a big, clean hitter of the ball. He bats left-handed and can whack the ball hard. And the same with Faisal Khan. Faisal hits a long ball as well.
“We have come up against each other, but it will be a good experience sharing the dressing room with them because we have been playing against each other in the Gulf Cup tournaments every year.
“It will be good to rub shoulders with them and get their inputs about how they see cricket and how they view cricket in the region. I am really looking forward to that.”
Vriitya’s international experience includes being part of the UAE squad that took part in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia – and he was a key contributor to one of the great moments in the country’s cricketing history, the hat-trick taken by former Viper Karthik Meiyappan.
“It still gives me goosebumps to this day that one of my best friends has a World Cup hat-trick against Sri Lanka. And I was a small part of it as well.
“I took a catch as the second wicket of his hat-trick was a caught-behind. And then when he got his hat-trick, I was so excited. I was running, tripped over my feet, fell down, smashed my helmet on the floor, and did not even realise the pain.
“I got back up, running again to catch him because he just started sprinting after his hat-trick.
“That was a surreal moment.”
