Kushal Malla joins Desert Vipers for ILT20 season 3

Dubai [UAE], December 24 (ANI): Kushal Malla, the Nepal batting all-rounder, has been signed by the Desert Vipers for the upcoming third season of the ILT20.

Malla was one of the outstanding players in this month's inaugural Nepal Premier League, and he will join the Vipers as a replacement for Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede, who has been ruled out of the tournament through injury, a press release by Desert Vipers stated.

Although still only 20 - he will turn 21 a month after the tournament concludes - Malla already has a significant amount of experience in international cricket under his belt.

The left-handed batter and left-arm spin bowler made his One-Day International (ODI) debut at 15 years and 340 days, against the USA in February 2020, making him the eighth youngest male player to appear in that format.

Malla is Nepal's fifth-highest run-scorer in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), accruing 917 runs in 47 matches with one hundred, four fifties and a strike rate of 147.66, the best by any Nepal batter with more than 500 runs in the international format.

That hundred, 137 not out against Mongolia in the 2023 Asian Games, was made in only 50 balls, with eight fours and 12 sixes, and is the highest score by a men's number three batter in the history of T20Is.

Malla also has 768 runs in 39 ODIs, with one hundred and four fifties, and he is one of only four male players to score hundreds in both international white-ball formats for Nepal.

On top of that, he has 43 wickets in ODIs and T20Is and he was a member of the Nepal side that took part in the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean earlier this year.

Commenting on the signing of Kushal Malla, Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody said as quoted by the release, "We are delighted to welcome Kushal to the Desert Vipers. He is a young player, but for someone so young he already has a significant amount of experience at a high level so we know he will not be phased by stepping into the Vipers' set-up. It is also a huge positive that Kushal is coming to us off the back of the Nepal Premier League, playing with and against good players in a competitive environment."

"As a batter, Kushal can slot in virtually anywhere, having batted from opener to number seven in Twenty20 Internationals, and his strike-rate in the format shows what a dangerous player he is. And as a bowler, his left-arm spin offers us an option we were previously missing in our squad so that is a huge plus. I often speak of players with high ceilings and high potential. That is certainly something that applies to Kushal." added Moody.

"We are obviously sorry to be without the services of Bas this season. He fitted in well to our squad last season and we wish him a speedy recovery from the injury that has sidelined him from this tournament. In Kushal we feel like we have an outstanding replacement, a player who is hungry to achieve something significant on this type of stage, and we believe that being alongside the high-quality and experienced players we have at the Vipers will help him to realize his undoubted potential," said Moody.

The ILT20 is the UAE's own Twenty20 cricket tournament. The Desert Vipers, runners-up in the inaugural season in 2023, will start their quest for the 2025 title with a match against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on day two of the tournament, January 12 at 2 pm, as per the release. (ANI)