One of the most coveted T20 Tournament across the Globe, Caribbean Premier League is all set to take off from August 18 which also happens to be the first mega limited overs tournament amidst the ongoing global pandemic.
From the date of commencement, a total of 33 matches would be played with the season finale taking place on September 10.
Six franchises namely – Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, Trinbago Knight Riders, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and St Lucia Zouks will be competing with each other in a quest to make it to the top, and eventually be crowned the champions of CPL 2020.
Each team would be competing in a total of ten league matches which would be followed by the knockouts comprising Qualifiers 1 & 2, Eliminator and the Finals.
Earlier the match venues were distributed among the six participating teams. However, taking into account the COVID-19 scare, a request was made in June 2020 to conduct all the matches at two venues of Trinidad & Tobago – the home ground of Trinbago Knight Riders.
Not to forget, all these matches would be played behind closed doors, which means there won’t be any audience participation in the stadiums.
Defending champions Barbados Tridents who were the victorious side in the 2014 season will deploy whatever measures necessary to be the second team in CPL history to defend their title.
The Jason Holder-led side have been successful in roping in the star T20 bowler Rashid Khan, who is currently enjoying a purple patch in his career. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who had a dream run with the bat for his Big Bash League franchise – Melbourne Stars will look to emulate his show in the Caribbean land.
Trinbago Knight Riders have been the most successful franchise in CPL history with titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018 editions. Also, they have been the only side in this Caribbean T20 tournament to have defended their title.
They already possess a star studded lineup with Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons to name a few, and with the additions of spin experts Fawad Ahmed, Tim Seifert and Sikandar Raza for this season, one can anticipate them to make a sure shot mark in the top four in the league stages.
Guyana Amazon Warriors have been the runners up on five occasions, with successive appearances in 2013-14 and 2018-19 editions. Going by the players on paper, it is almost given that the Warriors would find themselves among the knockouts. They have the best set of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounder in their tent. From Shimron Hetmyer to Imran Tahir, one can clearly state them as one of the most daunting sides in the eighth edition of CPL.
Ross Taylor was the recent buy for the Warriors. The veteran had a great show in the T20Is against India and will be hoping to replicate the same performances in what’s possibly the most anticipated edition of CPL.
Two time CPL champions Jamaica Tallawahs (2013 and 2018) were highly active in the draft conducted earlier in the month of July. They possess a strong batting core in Andre Russell and Chadwick Walton, and pacer Oshane Thomas spearheading the bowling attack. Spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Sandeep Lamichhane and all-rounder Carloe Brathwaite have been the notable picks for the Tallawahs from the draft.
The other franchises vying for their maiden CPL title include – St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and St Lucia Zouks
The squad of St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have some of the finest cricketers to have graced the T20 cricket and it won’t come as a surprise if they succeed in getting their hands onto their trophy this time around, having been the runners up in the 2017 edition. With Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell as the big names among the retained bunch of players, and new additions in Chris Lynn, Sohail Tanvir, Ish Sodhi and Ben Dunk, the St Kitts can be vouched as one of the hot favorites for CPL 2020 title.
St Lucia Zouks will fancy their chances as well. The side already boasts of Two time World T20 skipper Darren Sammy, with hard-hitters Colin Ingram and wicket-keeper batsman , and the all-round entertainer in Kesrick Williams. Rising Caribbean pace sensation Chemar Holder and an experienced T20 all-rounder Mohammad Nabi have been the notable selections from the draft.
All in all, there have been many interesting buys and retentions done by each competing franchise and looking at the players who have signed up for the challenge one can say that it is going to be a riveting tournament for both players and the audience.
On that note, let’s scroll down the complete list of updated squads for each franchise for CPL 2020.
Jamaica Tallawahs
Retaine: Oshane Thomas, Andre Russell, Chadwick Walton, Glenn Philipps (overseas), Rovmon Powell.
Signed: Tabraiz Shamsi (overseas).
Drafted: Ryan Persaud (ICC Americas pick), Veerasammy Permaul, Nkrumah Bonner, Sandeep Lamichhane (overseas), Andre McCarthy, Asif Ali (overseas), Preston McSween, Carlos Brathwaite, Fidel Edwards, Jeavor Royal, Nicholas Kirton.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
Retained: Evin Lewis, Dominic Drakes, Alzarri Joseph, Rayad Emrit, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen.
Signed: Denesh Ramdin, Ish Sodhi (overseas), Sohail Tanvir (overseas), Rassie van der Dussen, Chris Lynn (overseas).
Drafted: Sunny Sohal (ICC Americas pick), Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Colin Archibald, Joshua da Silva, Ben Dunk (overseas), Dennis Bulli.
St Lucia Zouks
Retained: Kavem Hodge, Daren Sammy, Kesrick Williams, Rahkeem Cornwall, Colin Ingram (overseas), Andre Fletcher, Obed McCoy,
Signed: Kimani Melius, Rilee Rossouw (overseas), Noor Ahmad (overseas), Anrich Nortje (overseas)
Drafted: Saad Bin Zafar (ICC Americas pick), Javelle Glen, Leniko Boucher, Mohammad Nabi (overseas), Mark Deyal, Chemar Holder.
Trinbago Knight Riders
Retained: M Ali Khan (ICC Americas pick), Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Khary Pierre, Colin Munro (overseas), Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Amir Jangoo, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein.
Signed: Jayden Seales, Tim Seifert (overseas), Fawad Ahmed (overseas).
Drafted: Pravin Tambe (overseas), Sikandar Raza (overseas), Anderson Phillip.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Retained: Anthony Bramble, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Qais Ahmad (overseas), Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Green (overseas), Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Imran Tahir.
Signed: Kevin Sinclair, Ross Taylor (overseas).
Drafted: Jasdeep Singh (ICC Americas pick), Ashmead Nedd, Naveen-ul-Haq (overseas).
Barbados Tridents
Retained: Justin Greaves, Raymon Reifer, Jonathan Carter, Ashley Nurse, Hayden Walsh Jr, Shai Hope, Harry Gurney (overseas), Jason Holder.
Signed: Nyeem Young, Johnson Charles, Marcus Stoinis (overseas), Rashid Khan (overseas)
Drafted: Shayan Jahangir (ICC Americas pick), Alex Hales (overseas), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (overseas), Kyle Mayers, Joshua Bishop.
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