– Tahir confident of Keemo Paul’s recovery
By Brandon Corlette
The 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) play-offs will bowl off today, Tuesday, September 19 from 19:00h at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
St Lucia Kings and Jamaica Tallawahs will meet in the Eliminator while the big contest between Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors will bowl off tomorrow, Wednesday, September 20 from 19:00h.
In a pre-match press conference, which was held at the Pegasus Hotel, Imran Tahir, Captain of the Warriors; Brandon King, Captain of the Tallawahs; Sikandar Raza, Captain of the Kings and Martin Guptill, stand-in captain of TKR, expressed positive sentiments ahead of the business phase of CPL 2023.
The defending champions, Tallawahs have made the play-offs, and Captain King believes that the team is clicking at the right time.
“I think it is going alright so far. In terms of the competition at this stage nothing really matters before the play-offs. Our goal was to qualify for the play-offs and we achieved that. We look like we are starting to play our cricket coming into the play-offs, that is good from a team’s perspective, and everyone in the camp is going well,” King said.
Meanwhile, Guptill who stood in place of Kieron Pollard at the press conference, said the best was yet to come for TKR. He also noted that everyone, including Dwayne Bravo, was fit and ready to play.
“We are in a pretty good space; I think everybody had some good game time out in the middle. Whether batting, bowling or fielding, we are in a really good space, and the guys are playing really good cricket, and the best is yet to come,” Guptill said.
Captain of the Warriors, Tahir is brimming with confidence ahead of the TKR clash.
“Really looking forward to our next game. We have been playing really good cricket. We played four games in a row, so we deserve a rest today, some time to think, and yes, we are looking forward to the game which is coming ahead (against TKR).
Raza, the man from Zimbabwe, is hoping that his team can replicate the good performances shown in the league stage.
“Similar to the other teams, we are really excited, and we firstly wanted to qualify, which we have done that. What we are looking for is to have some of the best performances that we have had, some of the good performances that we have had during the group stages, we have to try and replica those performances in the play-offs when it matters the most,” Raza said.
As it relates to Keemo Paul, Captain Tahir said that despite Paul’s injury being severe, things were looking positive for him to return to the team.
“If we make it to final, I am sure that he will recover. His injury is a bit severe, so I am not sure that he is going to get it right. Our physio has been working hard, and things are looking positive going forward,” Tahir explained.
Guyana Amazon Warriors squad: Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Saim Ayub, Hazratulla Zazai, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Azam Khan, Shai Hope, Gudakesh Motie, Dwaine Pretorius, Kevlon Anderson, Kevin Sinclair, Keemo Paul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Ronsford Beaton, Matthew Nandu, and Junior Sinclair.
Jamaica Tallawahs squad: Imad Wasim, Brandon King, Fabian Allen, Mohammad Amir, Alex Hales, Chris Green, Jermaine Blackwood, Shamarh Brooks, Hayden Walsh Jr, Raymon Reifer, Amir Jangoo, Steven Taylor, Shamar Springer, Nicholson Gordon, Kirk McKenzie, and Kelvin Pitman.
Saint Lucia Kings squad: Johnson Charles (wicketkeeper); Colin Munro; Bhanuka Rajapaksa; Sean Williams; Sikandar Raza (Captain); Roston Chase; Roshon Primus; Matthew Forde; Alzarri Joseph; Peter Hatzoglou; McKenny Clarke; Chris Sole; Khary Pierre; Jeavor Royal; Kimani Melius; Leonardo Julien; Jair McAllister and Sadrack Descarte.
Trinbago Knight Riders squad: Martin Guptill; Mark Deyal; Nicholas Pooran; Lorcan Tucker (wicketkeeper); Kieron Pollard (Captain); Andre Russell; Sunil Narine; Akeal Hosein; Jayden Seales; Ali Khan; Waqar Salamkheil; Kadeem Alleyne; Jaden Carmichael, Terrance Hinds, Tom Curran, Chadwick Walton and Dwayne Bravo. (GTimes)