LISTICLE
Follow UsWe’re just a week away from the first game of the 11th season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and we can’t wait for it to start sooner.
2023 has seen the mushrooming of T20 leagues like no other. CPL will be the third league to begin this month alone. However, the presence of West Indian superstars will give it a significant edge over the other leagues.
There's been a lot of player traffic moving in and out of teams. Here are some of the big names caught in that jam.
Dwayne Bravo (Trinbago Knight Riders)
After spending two seasons with the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Dwayne Bravo moves back home to Trinidad and Tobago. By his own admission, while announcing the move in 2021, he wanted “newer challenges”. And he managed to beat them, as he led the Patriots to their maiden title in his first season with them.
He now heads back to Trinbago Knight Riders, where he will join forces with the likes of Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, and Sunil Narine - to form the most potent domestic core, arguably, the world over.
TKR finished bottom of the table last season, managing only three wins in 10 matches. The team and their fans will be hoping that, along with his experience, Bravo will also bring in a change of fortunes for the side.
Rovman Powell (Barbados Royals)
Potentially, an even bigger move than Bravo’s - Rovman Powell, the current national team skipper in the shortest format, was traded from the Tallawahs to the Barbados Royals. This, after leading them to their third title in the previous season. The Jamaican had scored 1337 runs since making his debut for them in 2016.
He had been in excellent hitting form in the home series against India, and Powell will be expected to shoulder bulk of the batting responsibilities in a side packed with all-rounders. He will be taking over captaincy duties from David Miller, who ably led them to the top of the table in the league stage.
He will have his task cut out for him while leading a relatively young and inexperienced Royals side. Can he become the second captain to win consecutive CPL titles?
Oshane Thomas (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)
Oshane Thomas, having represented the Barbados Royals for two seasons, was traded to the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots during the trade window in May earlier this year. The pacer had been a bit off-boil last year but seems to have added a yard of pace or two.
He will be keen on proving his worth and staking a claim to be a part of the home T20 World Cup next year. Thomas has claimed 42 wickets in the CPL at an average of 24.42 across his 33 matches.
This will be his third CPL franchise, having earlier represented his home side, Jamaica Tallawahs, from 2016 to 2020. Along with Dominic Drakes and Sheldon Cottrell, the right-arm pace can help the Patriots form a potent domestic pace attack.
Ambati Rayudu (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)
Adding some Indian flavour to round off the list, Ambati Rayudu is all set to become the first Indian international to feature in the CPL. The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots signed him up as their marquee player after Dewald Brevis made himself unavailable for the season.
"I'm really excited to be joining the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. I look forward to having a positive contribution to the team in the upcoming CPL 2023," Rayudu said.
The veteran from Telangana was earlier slated to play for the Texas Super Kings in the MLC but backed out amidst talks of BCCI introducing a one-year cooling-off period for retired Indian players before they can participate in overseas franchise leagues.
He won’t be the only Indian at the Patriots’ setup - they’ve also signed Malolan Rangarajan as their head coach for the upcoming season. He will become just the third Indian after Pravin Tambe and Shreyanka Patil to be a part of a CPL squad.
