Abu Dhabi [UAE], November 18 (ANI): Deccan Gladiators announced Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz as their captain for the upcoming edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 and he said that the team’s first goal will be to qualify for the knock-out stage.

“My aim is to play good cricket as a team. We should entertain the crowd and while doing that, we want to qualify for the semi-finals and the final,” said Wahab Riaz in a release.

The team has also brought in Afghanistan’s right-arm fast bowler Hamid Hasan and Asif Khan, the 31-year-old right-handed all-rounder from UAE. Wahab Riaz and Hamid Hasan are two of the most experienced fast bowlers in limited-overs cricket and their addition will add more firepower to the Gladiators bowling attack.

Asif re-joins the Gladiators after a gap of one year when he played for Pune Warriors. They come in as replacements for Evin Lewis, Ryan Rickleton, Ravi Bopara and Zahoor Khan.

Speaking about the squad, the skipper said, “It is a great squad, a lot of all-rounders and batsmen who can take the fight to the opposition in no time and single-handedly change the complexion of the game. We have Tom Banton and Kohler- Cadmore on the top, followed by David Wiese, Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranaga and so many good players in the team, and I think we have all our bases covered.”Thankful to the Deccan Gladiators team management for picking him in the squad, Asif Khan said, “The squad has a number of experienced cricketers and I am looking forward to learning a lot of things from them during the course of the tournament.”The upcoming edition of the Abu Dhabi T10, scheduled to kick off on November 19 and Deccan Gladiators will be facing Chennai Braves in their first game on November 20. (ANI)