The full squads of all six franchises for the upcoming CPL 2021 season have been announced, which sees some shakeups as well.
The ninth edition of the Caribbean Premier League is set to get underway from August 28. The draft was held on Sunday, and the full squads, featuring some of the biggest T20 superstars in the world, were revealed on Friday, May 28.
The entire tournament will be held at Warner Park in St. Kitts and Nevis between August 28 to September 19. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, having a tournament in one city gives the best chance of completing it without any incidents.
The entirety of CPL 2020 was held in Trinidad and Tobago, with matches at The Brian Lara Stadium and the Queen’s Park Oval. The Cricket West Indies has stuck to the formula that helped them to successfully pull the event off last year. St. Kitts and Nevis government has also allowed 50% spectators for the CPL 2021.
CPL 2021 – Draft picks and transfers
There were quite a few shakeups in the CPL franchises for this year’s tournament. The most notable one was Dwayne Bravo moving from Trinbago Knight Riders, who were invincible last year, to St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Bravo will be joining Chris Gayle.
Sherfane Rutherford, who was released by Guyana Amazon Warriors, will also join the Patriots. Oshane Thomas will turn up for the Barbados Tridents, while Keemo Paul will play for St. Lucia Zouks.
From the overseas lot, South African all-rounder Chris Morris has been picked by BT. The upcoming edition will be Morris’ first-ever appearance in the CPL. Sri Lankan leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who has emerged as an exciting talent, will join the Patriots. Faf du Plessis will represent the Zouks while Shakib Al Hassan will reunite with Jamaica Tallawahs. Nepal leggie Sandeep Lamichhane will move to the Knight Riders.
Pakistan players garnered a huge interest at the CPL draft, with Mohammad Amir, Usman Qadir, Haider Ali and Azam Khan featuring in the CPL for the first time. Azam Khan, one of the most exciting T20 prospects, will turn up for the Tridents along with Amir. The veterans Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez will reunite at Guyana Amazon Warriors. Wahab Riaz and Qadir will take the field for the Zouks while Haider Ali goes to the Tallawahs.
Former India U-19 player, Smit Patel, who has moved to the USA, has been picked by the Tridents as a Major League Cricket pick. The CPL draft allows the franchises to pick an MLS player or a West Indies local player as the 17th draft pick.
Full Squads for CPL 2021
Barbados Tridents: Jason Holder, Chris Morris, Thisara Perera, Johnson Charles, Mohammad Amir, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Raymon Reifer, Hayden Walsh Jr, Nyeem Young, Azam Khan, Shafiquallah Ghafari, Ashley Nurse, Justin Greaves, Joshua Bishop.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik, Brandon King, Imran Tahir, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Hafeez, Naveen ul Haq, Kevin Sinclair, Waqar Salamkheil, Niall Smith, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Ashmead Nedd.
Jamaica Tallawahs: Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Shakib Al Hasan, Fidel Edwards, Carlos Brathwaite, Kennar Lewis, Haider Ali, Chadwick Walton, Qais Ahmed, Kirk McKenzie, Jason Mohammad, Migael Pretorius, Veerasammy Permaul, Abhijai Mansingh, Joshua James, Ryan Persaud, Ibrahim Zadran.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots: Dwayne Bravo, Fabian Allen, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Sheldon Cottrell, Anrich Nortje, Wanindu Hasaranga, Devon Thomas, Sherfane Rutherford, Rayad Emrit, Rahamanullah Gurbaz, Dominic Drakes, Colin Archibald, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Joshua da Silva.
St Lucia Zouks: Faf du Plessis, Andre Fletcher, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Kesrick Williams, Matthew Wade, Usman Qadir, Rahkeem Cornwall, Samit Patel, Obed McCoy, Roston Chase, Mark Deyal, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Alzarri Joseph, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne.
Trinbago Knight Riders: Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Colin Munro, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Akeal Hosein, Sikandar Raza, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Ali Khan, Tion Webster, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julian.
