Desert Vipers Director of Cricket Tom Moody has stated that the team will not seek a replacement for injured USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, who sustained a calf injury in the previous match against MI Emirates.
Speaking on the Vipers Voices podcast, Moody expressed confidence that Gous would return to action soon.
“We will not be looking at a replacement, but we are hopeful that it is going to be a ten-to-fourteen-day turnaround,” he said. “I know Nirm (Nirmalan Thanabalasingam), our physio, and Daz (Veness), our strength and conditioning trainer, will be working very hard to get him back on track.”
As Gous recovers from his injury, Moody mentioned that Scotland and former New Zealand top-order batter Tom Bruce would assume the Associate player role. However, he added that the decision on who would open in place of Gous was still undecided.
“We have certainly got options,” said Moody. “I have not sat down with the Head Coach James Foster to actually discuss what he thinks around how we are going to manage that gap.”
Gous’ injury required talented UAE player Vriitya Aravind to step into the wicketkeeper role against the MI Emirates, and he made a significant contribution with a last-ball run-out of AM Ghazanfar, securing the victory.
Moody, an ICC Cricket World Cup winner with Australia in 1987 and 1999, praised Vriitya’s presence in the team environment.
“He was very much on our radar when it came to the auction,” Moody admitted.
“I remember in the very first year we were very keen to secure his services here at Desert Vipers, which we unfortunately did not get at that point. But three years on, we have managed to get him into our squad, and I think evidence in the last game shows exactly why we were keen on him.
“Vriitya is a great team man and a versatile cricketer. Yes, his natural setting is at the top of the order (as a batter), but that is quite common in these environments where your best players tend to bat in the top order in their local cricket.
“But when you come up a level (to a tournament like the DP World ILT20) that ability to adapt and bat in different positions and have different roles is really important and it is also important for his development as well.”
