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Desert Vipers in ILT20 Season 5

Desert Vipers are one of the six original ILT20 franchises. They played their first ILT20 season in 2023, reached the final in that first season, and finally lifted the trophy in 2025-26.

The change at the top is the biggest one. Sam Curran captained and starred in the last title run, but he is not on the Season 5 list. Babar Azam, in his first ILT20 season, takes the armband. Around him are the retained and pre-signed core, the Pakistan group bought at the auction, and a bowling attack that still includes Naseem Shah and David Payne, who took three wickets each in the last final.

Season 5 Outlook

• Desert Vipers, champions of 2025-26, captained by Babar Azam, coached by James Foster, based in Dubai, with a 22-player Season 5 squad.
• The final on 4 January 2026 was won by 46 runs in Dubai (182 for 4, MI Emirates 136 in 18.3 overs). Naseem Shah, David Payne and Khuzaima Tanveer are kept from that night, and Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan are added.
• Strategic Focus: No rebuild is needed; a new batting leader must fit a winning bowling group, and the new captain must settle quickly, starting with the opener against the same MI Emirates side beaten in the final.

Quick Facts

Season by Season

Key Current Players

Babar Azam, captain. The new leader and the headline auction buy at a reported USD 80,000. His first ILT20 season is the story of this squad.

Naseem Shah and David Payne. The final-night bowlers from last season, kept for Season 5. Payne was the most expensive Vipers auction buy, at a reported USD 150,000.

Shimron Hetmyer, Andries Gous and Dan Lawrence. The retained and pre-signed core. Gous and Lawrence were retained, Hetmyer was a pre-auction signing.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The pre-auction spin signing, joining from Dubai Capitals, where he played last season.

Desert Vipers Season 5 Players

All 22 names are below. The site does not use an overseas tag on this page, because almost the whole list is overseas. The split that matters here is retained, pre-auction signing, auction buy, and right to match. Roles marked not verified were not verified in the sources checked, and are left blank rather than guessed.

AllBattersBowlersWicketkeepersAll-roundersRole openStaff

Batters

Captain

Babar Azam

Batter

Shimron Hetmyer

WIBatter

Harry Tector

Batter

Dan Lawrence

Batter

Fakhar Zaman

Batter

Aneurin Donald

Batter

Bowlers

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Bowler

Naseem Shah

Bowler

David Payne

Bowler

Khuzaima Tanveer

Bowler

Wicketkeepers

Joe Clarke

Wicketkeeper

Andries Gous

Wicketkeeper

Vriitya Aravind

Wicketkeeper

All-rounders

Shadab Khan

All-rounder

Role not verified

Nilansh Keswani

Role not verified

Nangeyalia Kharote

Role not verified

Saleem Safi

Role not verified

Abdullah Ahmadzai

Role not verified

Bilal Tahir

Role not verified

Sanjay Pahal

Role not verified

Wali Muhammad

Role not verified

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Role not verified

Support staff

James Foster

Head coach

Season 5 Signings

The four names confirmed before the auction were Andries Gous and Dan Lawrence, who returned, and Shimron Hetmyer and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who joined through the pre-auction process. Hetmyer had played for the Vipers as a wildcard in Season 4, and Mujeeb had played for Dubai Capitals last season.

At the auction in Dubai on 1 October 2026, the Vipers then added the rest of the list. The headline auction buys were Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan, all at a reported USD 80,000 each. Babar is the only one of the four making his ILT20 debut. Fakhar and Naseem have played for the Vipers before.

Retained Players

Every other name on the Season 5 list came through the auction, including the three right-to-match names below.

Auction Prices, Season 5

Prices for the four pre-auction names are not listed as auction prices, because they were confirmed before the auction. A missing price elsewhere would mean not verified, not free.

Photograph credit: Official ILT20 website

Season 5 Match Schedule

Match 1 · LeagueUpcoming

Desert Vipers–

MI Emirates–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiSat 21 Nov, 6:30 pm GST

Match 4 · LeagueUpcoming

Sharjah Warriorz–

Desert Vipers–

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, SharjahMon 23 Nov, 6:30 pm GST

Match 6 · LeagueUpcoming

Dubai Capitals–

Desert Vipers–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiWed 25 Nov, 6:30 pm GST

Match 9 · LeagueUpcoming

MI Emirates–

Desert Vipers–

Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu DhabiSat 28 Nov, 2:00 pm GST

Match 12 · LeagueUpcoming

Desert Vipers–

Gulf Giants–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiSun 29 Nov, 6:30 pm GST

Match 15 · LeagueUpcoming

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders–

Desert Vipers–

Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu DhabiWed 2 Dec, 2:00 pm GST

Match 18 · LeagueUpcoming

Desert Vipers–

Sharjah Warriorz–

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, SharjahFri 4 Dec, 6:30 pm GST

Match 21 · LeagueUpcoming

Desert Vipers–

Dubai Capitals–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiSun 6 Dec, 6:30 pm GST

Match 27 · LeagueUpcoming

Desert Vipers–

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiSat 12 Dec, 6:30 pm GST

Match 29 · LeagueUpcoming

Gulf Giants–

Desert Vipers–

Dubai International Stadium, DubaiSun 13 Dec, 6:30 pm GST

ILT20 Season 5 runs from 21 November to 20 December 2026. Desert Vipers play ten league games, from the opener against MI Emirates in Dubai on 21 November to the last league game against Gulf Giants in Dubai on 13 December. The league stage ends on 14 December, and the playoffs are on 16, 17 and 18 December, with the final in Dubai on 20 December. If the Vipers finish in the top four, their playoff place will be decided by that league run, not by last season's title.

Records

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