Former England batsman, Owais Shah has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Dambulla Vikings Team for the inaugural Lanka Premier League Twnety20 Cricket Tournament, which begins later this month.

The 42-year-old middle order batsman will take over the duties of the team while replacing another former Englishman and fast bowler Jon Lewis, the franchise owners announced yesterday.

The Dambulla Vikings Team, under the guidance of Shah will come out for the first time when they take on the Kandy Tuskers Team on November 28, in a day game at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota.

Shah will have the opportunity of coaching a star-studded line-up, which includes top foreign players in the calibre of Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Samit Patel (England), and Paul Stirling (Ireland).

In addition, his presence would certainly be of great value to some of the upcoming talented local cricketers, who have been included in the Dambulla franchise.

The Dambulla Team, led by Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka, is packed with some promising cricketers like Sachindu Colombage, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Dilshan Madushanka and Ashen Bandara.

In fact, the Dambulla franchise is one of the favourites for the title with several National and former National players like Niroshan Dickwella, Lahiru Kumara, Oshada Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Upul Tharanga and Angelo Perera in the line-up.

Shah had earlier worked with the Emirates Cricket Board as an Interim Head Coach of the United Arab Emirates Cricket Team (UAE) while spearheading them to a 2-1 series triumph over Oman.

The former Essex and Hampshire batsman is certain to make an impact with the Dambulla franchise having already proved his ability to develop a strong rapport with the players and the support staff within a short period.

Shah, a veteran of 230 T20s will also carry a load of experience under his shoulders having represented the Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Tournament.

His England Test and One Day International (ODI) career of course, ended in 2009 but he kept on playing in the English County circuit until 2015.