While Twenty20 superstar Chris Gayle has pulled out of this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the likes of South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada and Afghan Twenty20star Rashid Khan are reportedly among those set to feature in this year’s tournament. All this depending on permutations related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The CPL draft is scheduled to be staged virtually tomorrow because of the global pandemic and has attracted 537 players. The CPL is scheduled for August 18 to September 10 behind closed doors in Trinidad & Tobago, subject to the permission from the government.
Yesterday Gayle informed his new franchise the St Lucia Zouks that he would not be available due to personal reasons. In his email to the franchise Gayle pointed out that due to the lockdown, he has not been able to meet his family and his young child who are in St Kitts while he has been in Jamaica. Gayle said he needed a break and wanted to spend time with his young family.
Gayle had signed up with Zouks in April after an acrimonious fallout with Jamaica Tallawahs, where he had returned in 2019 for a second stint. The Zouks would have been the third team Gayle would represent in the CPL after two stints with Tallawahs (2013-16 and 2019) and a two-year stay with St Kitts and Nevis (2017-18).
But it is expected that there will be no shortage of international quality in this year’s tournament. Australia batsman Chris Lynn, Afghanistan spin twins Khan and Qais Ahmad, and South African batsman Rilee Rossouw have been picked up by various franchises as overseas signings ahead of tomorrow’s draft.
It is understood that Lynn has been signed by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, while Rashid has been snapped up by defending champions Barbados Tridents. Rashid’s Afghanistan team-mate Ahmad will play for Guyana Amazon Warriors while Rossouw has been hired by St Lucia Zouks. These signings were possible only because for the first time the CPL allowed the six franchises to sign overseas players outside of the draft.
Other foreign players that are understood to have been signed include New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert (Trinbago Knight Riders), South Africa wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi (Jamaica Tallawahs), and his national team-mates Anrich Nortje (Zouks) and Rassie van der Dussen (Patriots).
It is understood that some of the names like Rashid and Ahmad were originally supposed to be part of the draft. However, once the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to send an enlarged squad for the upcoming England tour, there were issues over the availability of some of the original picks like Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and Shadab Khan.
While Shadab and Malik were meant to represent Warriors, Riaz is understood to have been initially signed by Tridents. Today it was announced that both Shadab and Riaz have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of Pakistan’s tour to England. Another Tridents signing that did not eventually go through was South Africa white-ball captain Quinton de Kock, who was meant to be the marquee player for the franchise.
Both Warriors and Knight Riders have the least number of slots to fill – three each. In contrast, Tallawahs have 11 vacant spots, Patriots six, while Tridents and Zouks have five each.
As for the draft itself is concerned, players from 23 countries, outside of those from the Caribbean, have registered, including two names from India. Forty-eight-year-old Pravin Tambe, the former Mumbai legspinner, is the oldest player in the draft. He had recently played the T10 league in 2018 for the Sindhis and was a regular in the Rajasthan Royals line-up between 2013 and 2015. More recently, Tambe was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the 2020 IPL auction, but was forced to withdraw later after the BCCI pulled him up for playing in unsanctioned cricket leagues like the T10. Asad Pathan a hard-hitting batsman, who had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, is the other Indian in the draft. The 36-year old Pathan is part of the cluster without a base price.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is the only player listed in the highest base price bracket of USD $160,000 while England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan features in the USD$130,000 bracket. Morgan’s England team-mate Tom Banton, New Zealand seamer Tim Southee, and Australia allrounder Ben Cutting have been slotted in the USD$110,000 bracket.
Some of the other noteworthy players that have registered for the draft include South Africa batsmen Faf du Plessis and David Miller, Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi, Australia batsman D’Arcy Short, Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (all USD$90,000).
Former West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite, who had captained the Patriots in the 2019 CPL, features in the USD$70,000 bracket with England batsman Alex Hales while Rabada along with Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi are listed in the USD$60,000 bracket.
As for availability, the only question mark remains over the players picked to feature in the series between England and Pakistan scheduled between August and September. Those players have notified the CPL that international cricket would remain their preference.
The CPL has told all franchises to assemble their squads from August 1 with the players and support staff having to undergo two-week period in quarantine before the tournament gets underway. (Cricinfo)
