By Brandon Corlette
For years many have looked forward to seeing star players from India feature in the “Biggest Party in Sport”, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remain barred from playing in leagues around the world owing to the strict Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
CPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell said anyone would want to give away their right hand to have a Virat or Rohit playing for them in the CPL, but, as he noted, that was not going to happen anytime soon.
“You look to give your right hand away to have players like that. We can only deal with the reality with where we sit. Indian players in any of these T20 tournaments is not going to happen anytime soon, but we are very pleased to get what we believe are the best players in the world. All the West Indies players to compete in our tournament make it the spectacle that it is,” Russell said.
He added: “While everyone will like to have a Kohli and a Rohit playing for them, we got Pollard, Gayle, Bravo and a bunch of others who I think are the equal of those. We are very comfortable of the players that we have.”
On the international front, the CPL CEO is very fascinated with newly-drafted international players such as Tim David, who is in red-hot form, and the experienced Englishmen Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel. Still, even though the CPL CEO is excited to see these players, his focus remains on the West Indian players. “For us we want to see who is the next Hetmyer, who is the next Keemo Paul and who is the next Pooran that will come out of the pack and surprise us and have successful international careers.”
In addition to the West Indian players and new overseas players drafted, a host of other internationals are ready to set the CPL alight. Australia’s Chris Green will turn out for the Jamaica Tallawahs while the New Zealander Glenn Phillips and Englishman Jake Lintott will play for Barbados Royals. Pakistan’s Yasir Shah and Black Caps Tim Seifert are the late drafts for Trinbago Knight Riders while Aussie leggie Fawad Ahmed and Pakistan’s Asif Ali will play for Patriots, alongside Dutchman Paul van Meekeren.
Full CPL squads
Jamaica Tallawahs: Andre Russell, Chris Green, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Haider Ali, Chadwick Walton, Fidel Edwards, Qais Ahmad, Jason Mohammed, Migael Pretorius, Kennar Lewis, Shamarh Brooks, Veerasammy Permaul, Abijhai Mansingh, Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, and Ryan Persaud.
Saint Lucia Kings: Faf du Plessis, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Tim David, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Usman Qadir, Samit Patel, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, and Alzarri Joseph.
Trinbago Knight Riders: Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Yasir Shah, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Tim Seifert, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julien, and Ali Khan.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots: Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Ravi Bopara, Paul van Meekeren, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Fawad Ahmed, Devon Thomas, Rayad Emrit, Asif Ali, Colin Archibald, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes, Joshua Da Silva, and Mykile Louis.
Barbados Royals: Glenn Phillips, Jason Holder, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Amir, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Oshane Thomas, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr, Azam Khan, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Ashley Nurse, Jake Lintott, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, and Smit Patel.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Nicholas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohammad Hafeez, Brandon King, Naveen-ul-Haq, Romario Shepherd, Waqar Salamkheil, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Nial Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, and Ashmead Nedd.