St Kitts & Nevis Patriots: a chance to end TKR's monopoly

The 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) saw Dwayne Bravo, in his maiden season as skipper of St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, astonishingly lead the franchise to its first ever CPL title. It completed a remarkable turnaround after the side finished bottom in 2020. Come the 2022 season, the Patriots will be aiming to become just the second team in the history of the competition — the first being Trinbago Knight Riders — to successfully defend the CPL title.

As power-packed as the Patriots were last season, what truly propelled the side to the title was the fact that they had individuals rise up to the occasion at the right time. Dominic Drakes, who entered the final with 54 runs to his name in the season, playing a match-winning 48* (24) in the finale to take the team over the line was pretty much emblematic of the same. 

This time around, too, the Patriots’ squad is stacked with match-winners — they arguably have a stronger group than last season — but do they have it in them to build on last season’s success and get even better? That’s the question lying in front of skipper Bravo and head coach Simon Helmot.

Time will tell if CPL 2021 was an anomaly or if we actually have a side that’s going to put an end to TKR’s monopoly in the competition. 

Changes made

OUT

Chris Gayle, Fabian Allen, Naseem Shah, Fawad Ahmed, Ravi Bopara, Asif Ali, Devon Thomas, Paul van Meekeren

IN

Wanindu Hasaranga, Dewald Brevis, Darren Bravo, Dwaine Pretorius, Andre Fletcher, Qasim Akram, Izharulhaq Naveed, Jaden Carmichael, Kevlin Pitman

The Patriots have retained their core — Bravo, Lewis, Rutherford, Drakes, Da Silva, Cottrell — but evident from above, have made a ton of changes. They’ve had as many as eight notable outgoings. 

On paper, Chris Gayle might look like the biggest absentee but the universe boss had an ordinary CPL 2021 — 165 (runs) / 18.33 (avg) / 128.90 (SR) — and did not impact too many games barring the semi-final against Guyana. Leggie Fawad — 11 wickets @ ER 6.52 — will, in terms of impact, be the biggest miss. Netherlands’ van Meekeren — 8 wickets @ ER 7.93 —  and all-rounder Fabian Allen — 9 wickets @ ER 7.73, 137 runs @ SR 137.24 — also played key roles in the title-winning CPL 2021 campaign. 

The good news, though, is that they’ve some behemoths walking in. None bigger than Wanindu Hasaranga, one of the hottest properties in T20 cricket at present. Hasaranga, however, owing to the Asia Cup, will be available only September 12 onwards (i.e will miss at least six matches). 

Dwaine Pretorius is another T20 banker the Patriots have drafted in, while they’ve also invested in youth: two U19 skippers, South Africa’s Dewald Brevis and Pakistan’s Qasim Akram will turn out for the side this season, as will young Afghanistan leggie Izharulhaq Naveed.

The other notable signing is that of Andre ‘spiceman’ Fletcher, who, in all likelihood, will take up Gayle’s spot at the very top.

Strengths 

The Patriots managed to keep hold of their batting core, and that has now been made even stronger by the arrivals of Fletcher and Brevis. On paper, they have a complete batting line-up that has the potential to wreck any bowling unit on its day: a left-right opening pair (both match winners on their day), a flexible middle-order with a good mix of anchors, spin/pace hitters, LHB batters and a flurry of hard-hitters down the order. 

The biggest catch about this SKNP side, though, is the sheer amount of all-rounders they have at their disposal — Brevis included, the Patriots will have as many as six all-rounders in their full-strength XI, each individual adding a different dimension. This will provide the side with exceptional pliability, allowing them to thrive notwithstanding conditions.  

Threats

SKNP are a well-rounded side with not too many evident weaknesses, but the team will certainly be handicapped by the absence of Hasaranga in the first half of the season. The unavailability of Hasaranga will leave a huge void in the bowling department that will have to be filled by young Izharulhaq Naveed, who is the only like-for-like replacement (with the ball) in the squad.

And as strong as their batting looks on paper, there are a couple of minor concerns. There is plenty of inexperience and a vast majority of the individuals are of the ‘hit or miss’ mould. The way their batting is structured, it could spell trouble for SKNP should Evin Lewis, their highest-run getter from last season, have an ordinary campaign. And while SKNP have plenty of able lower-order hitters, there is no established finisher that can be relied upon to take the side over the line game in and game out. 

Squad

Probable first-choice XI

Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher (wk), Dewald Brevis, Joshua da Silva, Sherfane Rutherford, Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo (capt), Dominic Drakes, Wanindu Hasaranga* / Izharulhaq Naveed, Sheldon Cottrell, Jon-Russ Jaggesar    

*Due to Asia Cup commitments, Hasaranga will not be available for SKNP’s first six games of the season

First match

Defending champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will begin their CPL 2022 campaign against Jamaica Tallawahs on Wednesday, August 31. The clash will serve as the curtain-raiser for the season.