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Jamie Overton understands the pressures of retaining a trophy as big as the International League T20 (ILT20), but the English all-rounder is confident about the Gulf Giants' prospects in the second edition of the tournament, which commences on January 19 with a clash against his team and the Sharjah Warriors.
Speaking to the media ahead of the tournament, Overton shared his enthusiasm at the prospect of returning to action for the Adani Sportsline-owned team and helping them to the title once again, this time as defending champions. "The pressure is always there in whatever tournament you are playing because you are expected to win all the time. You have to deal with this pressure. Normally, the teams that win such competitions are the teams that do the basics very well. That means hitting the top of the off stump and nailing your skills as a bowler," he said. Jamie is excited to be working with some of the younger talents, especially the home-grown UAE players. "UAE has unbelievable cricketers. We have a couple of good guys here who have been phenomenal for us. Players like Sanchit (Sharma) and Aayan (Khan). If we can keep working on these cricketers, who knows where they can get to, we can potentially see them in the IPL fairly soon. Credit to the team owners for sticking with a great coach like Andy Flower. He is one of the best coaches in the world," said Overton. Overton has played a Test for England, taking two wickets and playing a knock of 97 against New Zealand. He might have not played in season one after suffering an injury, but this did not deter Overton from returning in time for the ILT20 season 2. Having spent time on the sidelines improving his fitness, the bowling all-rounder is ready to take the field once more, "It was like a tough first couple of months. I did nor do anything for two months as I was trying to get over the injury, get my head space in a good place so that when I came back, I would be ready to go. When I did come back, I played in the T20 Blast as a batter just to try and prolong the season," said Overton. Meanwhile, sharing his concluding thoughts, Overton revealed that his abilities made him an asset to the team, something he believes will help the team be unbeatable once again. "I have bowled quite a lot more in the last six months. I have been working on my skills with the white ball, trying to bowl Yorkers and slower, nailing my lengths a bit more. This will help be a bit more valuable to the team, offering two different assets." "And then with the bat, you try to take sensible options and target the bowlers that you feel you can target. We are in a good place and everyone feels like they are ready to go for season 2 of the ILT20 and hopefully try to win the trophy back," said the Englishman. The second season of ILT20 will be played from January 19 to February 18 this year. It will feature six teams: the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Gulf Giants, Dubai Capitals, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors. (ANI)
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