Vriitya Aravind is eyeing a return to the UAE’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The 23-year-old wicketkeeper was the player of the qualifying tournament when the UAE last made it to the 20-over showpiece, ahead of the 2022 tournament in Australia.
However, when the national team sealed a return to next year’s T20 World Cup, in Muscat earlier this month, he was absent.
Aravind has been exiled from the short-format side for the best part of two years now. And, despite being their leading run scorer in the last Cricket World Cup League 2, is out of the ODI squad, too.
Despite seemingly being unfancied by Lalchand Rajput, the UAE coach, Aravind clearly still has plenty of admirers elsewhere.
He made history last month by becoming the first player to be signed at an auction for the DP World International League T20.
Although his fee, at his base rate of $10,000, was some way short of the eye-watering sums fetched by UAE bowlers Junaid Siddique and Mohammed Rohid, it was still a sign that he was valued.
His new team could also be a good fit for a player who has somehow fallen through the cracks despite his fine returns for the national team since he was first fished out of school to play for them in a crisis.
Desert Vipers have been losing finalists twice in the first three seasons of the UAE’s T20 league. Despite missing out on the trophy, they are so far the one franchise of the six in the ILT20 who have established the deepest roots in the game in the country.
As well as repaying their faith in him, Aravind also has an extra incentive for excelling for the Vipers when Season 4 of ILT20 gets started in December. The league will be an audition for players hoping to make the UAE squad for February’s World Cup.
“What better motivation can a player have than playing in the World Cup?” Aravind said, speaking on the Vipers’ own podcast.
“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 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.”
Aravind said he will be a better player when he does return to the national team, due to the harsh lessons learnt in his time away from the side.
“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 practice games, that is what will get me back into the team.
“It has been tough for the past one year just because [until the start of 2024] 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 U16s, the U19s 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.”
Aravind did not watch the ILT20 auction live, but he said it felt like it had “reignited the flame” in him for cricket when he found out the Vipers had come in for him.
“I had a bit of a time delay in the feed I was watching of the auction,” he said. “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 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.”
