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Moises Henriques Exclusive Interview for CREX. Image Credits: AFP
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL 2026) has begun in full flow with a platform for Associate Nation players to work alongside the best in the business of cricket. ETPL, which is Europe's 1st ever ICC sanctioned T20 league, has brought some global superstars to their roster along with a plethora of players from Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands.
Among many others, one such name is former Australian legend and current Portuguese cricketer, Moises Henriques. Moises, whose roots hail from Portugal, has been in the news off late as, in a surprising move, he decided to represent Portugal professionally, despite playing cricket for Australia throughout his professional career.
At the age of 39 years, when professional athletes decide to hang up their boots, Moises Henriques chose a different path. He joined hands with Portugal Cricket to serve his birth nation before bowing out of the sport that became his life.
CREX got an opportunity to speak to Moises Henriques on behalf of the Glasgow Cosmic franchise of ETPL. Moises will be representing the Glasgow-based franchise in the ETPL.
The interview ranges from reasons behind the late career switch, how ETPL is a one-of-a-kind opportunity, his experiences in the IPL, and his analysis of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's future.
Below are the excerpts:
Q1- Congratulations to you and the Portugal team on winning the Maiden T20 World Cup sub-regional qualifier, you guys have moved on to the second step now! How does it feel?
Answer- Yeah, it's good. It's the first time I've been involved in any sort of qualifiers, so, yeah, it was really interesting to meet everyone, and just to see, I guess, how the associate nations and the European nations go about preparing and playing cricket.
Definitely, very different to what I've been used to, as a major nation with Australia for such a long time, but, Yeah, it was really fun, and we had a really, a really fun and enjoyable group of guys that, I think with those style of tournaments, it will make a big difference if you've got an easy group to hang out with, which was very lucky for me, because I did have a very good team.
Q2- You chose to start afresh and switch countries at an age when most players call it a day! What motivated you to do so?
Answer- I was never going to play for Australia again, at my age, so, it wasn't so much about switching allegiances, but more so about, I still felt like I had some good cricket left in me, and acknowledging that I wasn't going to get selected for Australia, but I still wanted to make sure that, if I was able to add value to anyone, then I could do that, and, obviously playing for Portugal, there's no pay.
It's not like when you're playing international cricket for Australia, but I still feel like it was an opportunity for me to play with other cricketers, and hopefully just give back, and help other cricketers improve and get better.
Also Read: Moises Henriques Blasts 1st T20 Hundred For Portugal Right After Leaving Australia
There are a lot of people in that Portuguese team who are a lot younger than I am. All in their early 20s, so they've got their whole careers in front of them, and if I can help, in just a little way, I'd be very happy to do so.
So, it was more so about giving back to the game that's given me so much, and, who knows, you know, if we do well, and then through a few more qualifiers, it'd be pretty cool to get an opportunity to even just go to those early qualifiers before a T20 World Cup.
Q3- You just mentioned T20 World Cup! In the very recent T20 World Cup, we saw the emergence of associate nations like Italy and the USA. How do you see this now that you are captaining a team like Portugal?
Answer- If you sort of look to those teams as a bit of a blueprint, or an inspiration as to what you'd like to achieve with the Portuguese team. Italy did really well to win a game or two, in their opportunity in the major World Cup, and with some strong performances against some stronger teams.
From our point of view, that's the type of formula we'd love to be able to create, and sort of mirror it. They (Italy, USA) did it through qualifiers; they slowly worked towards what they did, and that's what we're gonna have to do as a nation as well.
And even if it doesn't happen at this particular T20 World Cup, as I mentioned earlier, we've got a really strong, younger group of players. In T20 cricket, the way that the game works, whilst the best team always wins on the night, they might not always be the best team, they might have been the best team on that night, but you can't control everything in this game, and in sport, that's just the way sport works.
So whether or not we do make this World Cup round. Obviously it'd be amazing if we were able to get there, but I think the group's young enough that the experience will make them better and put them in a better position to do so for the next T20 World Cup qualifiers.
So, Portuguese cricket is on a very strong path. We've got a very young team with a lot of talented players. I think they're in a very good place at the moment.
Q4- You recently scored your first international century, that too with the Portugal. How would you like to continue that form into the ETPL?
Answer- My role with the Portuguese team was very different to my previous role with the Australian team. I got to bat at 3, and obviously the opposition was slightly different to the opposition that I've been used to when I've played for Australia in previous international T20s.
So, obviously, batting higher up the order and then different opposition allows you to explore some opportunities to score better and bigger scores.
However, you still have to go out there and do the job. So, it was nice to get some time in the middle. Other than that, the similarities, this is going to be a very different tournament. Those qualifiers were played on sort of rolled mats across sand, and I actually don't know what's under the rolled mat, to be honest.
Also Read: Indian Players In ETPL 2026- Teams, Squads, Record In T20 Leagues
Whereas, here it's gonna be proper turf and grass wickets, so that it's gonna be different conditions to what we were just playing on, but, having said that, as you mentioned, any runs are good runs; it's certainly better than not scoring runs.
I'm obviously feeling pretty good about how I'm batting, but every game is a new opportunity. So I'm gonna have to sort of adapt to these conditions, to these bowlers and sort of the strategy and tactics that the opposition team might come up with.
But that's nothing different to what I've done for the last 22 years. So, I'm confident that I'll be able to do that. But, yeah, I also acknowledge that doing well in those games doesn't guarantee strong performances in these games.
Q5- You just mentioned how different it is to play in the European circle, but I believe with ETPL, European cricket is entering a new era. What are your expectations from the first edition of ETPL?
Answer- I don't really have any expectations, to be honest. Personally, it's really cool to be able to travel through. I guess last week I was in Helsinki in Finland, carrying my cricket kit around. Now I'm in The Hague in The Netherlands.
Soon I'll be in Ireland, and whilst the Netherlands and the Ireland are slightly more established cricketing nations, by no means are they your sort of typical conditions like the ones that we've been used to playing, or where I've been.
I've been touring the majority of my cricket career as a cricketer. I've spent a lot of time in India, in the UK, South Africa, obviously Australia, and those types of powerhouse cricketing countries.
And it's just really cool to be able to travel to different nations to play as well. So the fact that it is just something a little bit different, something new to experience, I think that's really exciting.
So, as long as it's fun and enjoyable to be a part of, that's gonna be, I think, the main thing in terms of being able to attract the top talent in years to come. Like, if we want really good cricketers to make sure they come back next year, we just need to make this tournament fun to play.
I personally believe that when you see the players smiling on TV. When you see the the broadcast, and it looks like everyone's having fun, it makes it a lot better to watch. If people start turning up to the stadiums, then the whole product becomes a better product.
Obviously, the tournament needs to be well organised and well run, and it seems like it has been so far, and then from then on, it's on to the players to make sure that we're out there having fun, and performing, or trying to perform as well as we possibly can.
I've had a look at the team list in this tournament, and there's no shortage of talent going around. So, I don't think the standard will be a problem! We just need to make sure that we go out there, enjoy it, play hard, compete hard, and then shake everyone's hand at the end of the game and say well done.
Q6- As you just mentioned that players are going to market this tournament, talking about Glasgow Cosmic, did you have the opportunity to speak to your Head Coach Matthew Hayden? How do you assess him for the role?
Answer- We've only been in the camp for 4 or 5 days, but Haydos (Matthew Hayden) has been terrific so far. Sometimes with a slightly more inexperienced coach, especially in franchise, sort of leagues, you can try and do too much in a very small amount of time, and then by the time the first game comes around, or even you're halfway through the tournament, everyone's just burnt out.
It's very important to understand when you get to these types of tournaments that, a lot of the time, all the players that come together have been playing elsewhere and preparing in their own way.
He's got together, we've trained hard, but then when we're not at training, it's time to switch off, relax, and make sure we're fresh and ready to come back for training, either the next day or whenever training is.
Also Read: RCB Member Backed For CSK Head Coach Role By Matthew Hayden Before IPL 2027
So, I've really enjoyed his mindset at the moment. When you're at training, you mean business. When it's team time, it's team time, and when we go to play, we play hard, and then when you're not called upon, it's time for you to sort of relax and not worry too much about what's going on.
I love that mentality of turning up, making sure everyone's giving everything that they can when it's team time, but then when it's not, it's also time to relax and make sure we get to experience what life has to offer.
Q7- Even before the start of the tournament, your team, Glasgow Cosmic, is looking like a formidable unit on paper. Names like Jason Roy, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi are all part of your team apart from the associate stars! What are your thoughts on the team?
Answer- It's looking really good. As you mentioned, I think we've got a really well-balanced team in terms of spin bowling as well. We've got two guys who sort of spin it both ways, and we've got a 3rd spinner in Liam Livingstone who can sort of bowl offspin or leg spin depending on whoever's batting. So we've got plenty of spin bowling options through the middle.
And then obviously with Ali Khan and Lungi Ngidi, we've got options upfront and in the death overs as well. Paul van Meekeren and some other seamers that can add throughout the middle or at the start, at the end, and there's plenty of batting depth there as well.
In T20 cricket, sometimes one or two players can just take a game away from you, but we've got all the bases covered, and we've got a well-balanced squad. It will be just a case of making sure that our players stand up on the night, and some people put their hand up to win us games.
Q8- You have definitely played for more than a couple of decades, and in those 22 years, there has been a part of you playing in the IPL as well. Let's touch upon your experience across the many franchise leagues that you have played, be it IPL, BBL, or MLC. If you were to choose any 1, which league has tested you the most?
Answer- There's no doubt IPL is the most prestigious league that I think players want to be a part of. That's still the tournament where the whole playing window shuts down, and all the players are available to play.
And obviously, with the BCCI still holding back Indian players from playing in other tournaments, it also means that it's one of the only tournaments where you get to play almost as close to possible all the international players that are available for that league.
Obviously, the depth of Indian cricket is so strong that they've got so many strong domestic players that fill the roles that aren't filled by the internationals. So I think that, given how popular it is in India, and having been a part of the IPL, I think I've spent 9 or 10 years in the IPL.
It is just such an amazing tournament to be a part of. You can really notice it almost stops the nation for sort of the 6 to 8 weeks that it goes, and it's just a really cool thing to be a part of as a player and just experience.
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With the IPL matches being on 4 or 5 different channels every single night, you can't avoid it on TV, and it's just the pinnacle of T20 cricket.
However, obviously I have some bias towards the Big Bash, and my Sydney Sixers. I obviously love my home franchise and the Australian Big Bash competition for obvious reasons. I get to stay at home and have Christmas at home.
I still think it is an extremely strong competition as well. But IPL is a different culture, different conditions, and probably under the most pressure to perform as well, in terms of how many people are watching, and how much feedback you get straight away because of social media and all the commentary around that.
So there's a lot of hype, and which I think for people, if you haven't experienced that, it can be really sort of confronting for the first time. The first couple of times I went to the IPL would have been the biggest sort of culture shock, and just, well, not a shock, because I'd spent a lot of time in India before that.
But it was almost like my jaw was hitting the ground so much with, "How like, oh wow, this is amazing, oh wow this is cool, or how good's this, you know, sort of, it was just a really cool experience!"
Q9- The way you're expressing your IPL journey, I could not stop myself from asking you any of the anecdotes or personal experiences that you would like to share with our viewers?
Answer- Obviously, winning an IPL was really cool with Hyderabad (SRH). We were pretty lucky; we had a really strong team. David Warner obviously captained the team, and we had Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who, for all the years that I was at Hyderabad, was one of the most underrated cricketers in the IPL.
He seemed to be the Purple Cap holder year after year after year. I just thought if, at that time, if there was 1 Indian player I could have signed for the Sydney Sixers, it would have been Bhuvi for sure. He just delivered all the time, and always bowled really well in the death overs, and all the difficult overs that were hard to bowl.
Also Read: Bhuvneshwar Kumar Makes Himself Available For 2027 World Cup
He just did such a fantastic job for the team. We had a number of players like that who did well under pressure. Obviously, Rashid Khan as well. who joined us for a couple of years. So we had a really strong team, but also some really strong leadership as well.
We had Kane Williamson, Eoin Morgan, and those types of guys helping out in the background. So Davey (David Warner) did a great job leading, but he had a lot of good people behind him, helping along as well.
So, winning was a nice reward for that season (IPL 2016), because it felt like a really sort of relaxed and under-control season, and the environment of the team was really fun to be a part of as well. So that was probably a really strong memory of mine that I won't forget.
Q10- I would like to end up on an IPL topic itself! The IPL has produced numerous talents over the years, most recently, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the Indian prodigy! What do you think, in your opinion, has worked out the best for him?
Answer- It's a difficult question for me to answer because I haven't seen him (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) live yet; I've only just seen him on the TV. And I think it's absolutely incredible that such a young player is able to even compete against the adults and the mature, experienced cricketers, world-class cricketers, that are in that competition. And for someone so inexperienced and young to go out and do what he's done, I think it's just absolutely mind-boggling to me; it's incredible.
But I do also think it'll be a completely different challenge than going to international cricket, and just batting in different conditions.
Also Read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Turns Bowler, Bags 2 Wickets In 4 Balls
It's very obvious to see that in the IPL over the last two or three years, as the runs have gone through the roof. There are a lot more runs being scored, and the conditions do seem to be very batter-friendly.
Vaibhav's doing well, even in comparison to the best batters in the world. So you can't take any credit away from him for that, but it will definitely be a new challenge when he plays in different conditions, when it might be a little bit more bowler-friendly, or a ground might be a bit bigger, or the outfield might be a bit slower, and just little things like that.
That he may not have experienced yet in the IPL, as often. Whatever he's done so far to date has been a tick in every single box. From my point of view, they're just gonna be some little challenges along the way that he's gonna have to get used to.
If he's been able to tick so many boxes already at such a young age, I don't see any reason why he won't continue to keep doing those things.
So, there's obviously gonna be some challenges thrown in front of him. But, for him to have done what he's done already, I think he's gonna be able to adapt, learn, and just keep growing as a cricketer.
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