THE Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is scheduled to take place between August 19 and September 26, 2020.
But, the organisers of the event said they are watching the situation concerning the Covid-19 pandemic and liaising with medical advisors and governments to determine “whether the tournament can proceed as planned, or at a different time..”
In meantime the six franchises have chosen their Caribbean players.
The Jamaica Tallawahs have retained four Caribbean players for the 2020 edition of the Caribbean Premier League.
There have retained these players ahead of the CPL draft:
Andre Russell (Jamaica)
Rovman Powell (Jamaica)
Oshane Thomas (Jamaica)
Chadwick Walton (Jamaica)
Jefferson Miller, CEO of the Tallawahs, said: “The Tallawahs organisation will be seeking to rebuild in 2020. We are extremely excited to have Andre Russell back for another year. Andre was recently named as the leading T20 cricketer in the world by the 2020 Edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
“We are delighted for the opportunity to retain Oshane Thomas and Rovman Powell, both rising stars in West Indies and world cricket. I’m looking forward to having the veteran Chadwick Walton back in the dressing room, Chadwick brings a wealth of leadership experience to the team and has been a dominant player over the years in the CPL. Overall, we are looking forward to successful CPL 2020 and returning the championship to Jamaica.”
The St Lucia Zouks have retained all-time leading T20 run scorer Chris Gayle and St Lucian batsman Kimani Melius as their emerging player:
Chris Gayle (Jamaica)
Daren Sammy (Windward Islands)
Andre Fletcher (Windward Islands)
Kesrick Williams (Windward Islands)
Obed McCoy (Windward Islands)
Rahkeem Cornwall (Leeward Islands)
Kimani Melius (Windward Islands)
Kavem Hodge (Windward Islands)
The captain of the St Lucia Zouks, Daren Sammy, said: “I don’t have to tell you about Chris Gayle. He is the most successful T20 batsman in the world and I’m happy to be playing with him. I think he will be focused and motivated for the season. Andre Fletcher has been with us since the inception of the league. He carries the true spirit of St Lucia Zouks, and he is a great entertainer on the field.
“Kesrick Williams is one of the top T20 bowlers over the last few years in International cricket. Rahkeem Cornwall really bosses the powerplay overs and him partnering up with Chris Gayle is going to be something exciting to watch.
“I’m excited about Kimani Melius because he is from St Lucia. He is one of the hardest working youngsters I’ve ever seen. With the experience of Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher, he could really benefit from this CPL exposure. Obed McCoy is a talented left-arm fast bowler out of St.Vincent. He is a very skillful bowler, can’t wait to see him play a full season for the St Lucia Zouks. Kavem Hodge is another talented all-rounder we have. He works really hard on his game; he had a pretty good first class season as well.”
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have announced ten West Indian players they will be retaining for the 2020 CPL including emerging player Kevin Sinclair.
They have retained six local Guyanese players, three regional West Indian players as well as Sinclair who is also from Guyana.
The following are the Local and Regional players retained and signed by the franchise for CPL 2020:
Nicholas Pooran (Trinidad & Tobago)
Shimron Hetmyer (Guyana)
Brandon King (Jamaica)
Keemo Paul (Guyana)
Sherfane Rutherford (Guyana)
Romario Shepherd (Guyana)
Chandrapaul Hemraj (Guyana)
Kevin Sinclair (Guyana)
Odean Smith (Jamaica)
Anthony Bramble (Guyana)
Guyana Amazon Warriors Team Operations Manager, Omar Khan, commented on the retentions and signing: “The Guyana Amazon Warriors Franchise has and will always be committed to the continued development of our local and regional players. From the inception of the CPL we included young Guyanese players in our squad as part of the franchise’s mandate to provide opportunities to young aspiring Guyanese cricketers to assist in their overall development as professional cricketers. Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford have all benefitted from these opportunities prior to them becoming full-fledged members of our team.
“We are extremely delighted that we were able to retain the majority of our local and regional players, including Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King, both of whom have been hailed by the cricket pundits as potential future stars of West Indies cricket and who were members of our team last year. The Guyana Amazon Warriors wish all of the retained players great success in the CPL 2020.”
The Barbados Tridents have retained nine Caribbean players ahead of the CPL.
Nyeem Young is the emerging player.
Tridents Caribbean players are:
Jason Holder (Barbados)
Johnson Charles (Windward Islands)
Shai Hope (Barbados)
Hayden Walsh Jr (Leeward Islands)
Ashley Nurse (Barbados)
Jonathan Carter (Barbados)
Raymon Reifer (Barbados)
Nyeem Young (Barbados)
Justin Greaves (Barbados)
Speaking about the Caribbean player retentions, Tridents captain Jason Holder said: “We are really excited to build on last year’s championship win and it is great that we have been able to retain the core of our squad for this season. Combined with the international players that we are planning to add to the squad we are looking forward to defending our championship.”
Wicket keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin is now a Caribbean player with the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the CPL 2020. He has been transferred from the Trinbago Knight Riders.
The Patriots have Dominic Drakes of Barbados as their emerging player.
Seven Caribbean players of the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots are:
Evin Lewis (Trinidad & Tobago)
Fabian Allen (Jamaica)
Sheldon Cottrell (Jamaica)
Denesh Ramdin (Trinidad & Tobago)+
Rayad Emrit (Trinidad & Tobago)
Alzarri Joseph (Leeward Islands)
Dominic Drakes (Barbados)
Speaking on his appointment as captain, Emrit said: “I am very excited to be part of the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for a second season. I think that the team that is selected this year is going to be a very exciting one. I am very excited to be named as captain. It’s always an honour and a privilege to lead a franchise. Our new coach, Simon Helmot, knows the CPL and he knows how to win titles. He and I are going to work very hard to get the team to the finals.”
The Trinbago Knight Riders have announced the ten Caribbean players they will be retaining for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League. All the players are from Trinidad including emerging players Amir Jangoo and Jayden Seales.
Dwayne Bravo (Trinidad & Tobago)
Kieron Pollard (Trinidad & Tobago)
Sunil Narine (Trinidad & Tobago)
Darren Bravo (Trinidad & Tobago)
Lendl Simmons (Trinidad & Tobago)
Khary Pierre (Trinidad & Tobago)
Jayden Seales (Trinidad & Tobago)
Amir Jangoo (Trinidad & Tobago)
Tion Webster (Trinidad & Tobago)
Akeal Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago)
Venky Mysore, Director of TKR said: “Over the last five years, TKR has built the franchise by consciously bringing back players from Trinidad & Tobago and also developing local talent. We are delighted that all ten of our Caribbean players in the TKR squad for 2020 are from Trinidad & Tobago.”
