Squads revealed for Caribbean Premier League as Gayle and Bravo team up

This year’s tournament is due to begin on August 28, taking place in St Kitts and Nevis, with Chris Morris, Mohammad Amir, Faf du Plessis and Shakib al Hasan among a packed list of overseas players set to take part

West Indies veterans Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo will reunite in the Caribbean Premier League, with both legends of the T20 franchise circuit joining St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

Gayle didn’t play in last year’s competition, while Bravo has been traded to his new team, with wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin returning to Trinbago Knight Riders as part of the deal. Their alliance was the biggest news in the build-up to the squads for the upcoming CPL being confirmed on Friday.

This year’s tournament is due to begin on August 28, taking place in St Kitts and Nevis, with Chris Morris, Mohammad Amir, Faf du Plessis and Shakib al Hasan among a packed list of overseas players set to take part.

Player reveals have been drip-fed in recent days by individual franchises, including the arrival of Gayle – Bravo’s trade was announced in April.

Patriots have also signed West Indies allrounder Sherfane Rutherford on a transfer from Guyana Amazon Warriors, his home team, as well as South Africans Rassie van der Dussen and Anrich Nortje, Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Fabian Allen, who was ruled out of the 2020 edition after missing his charter flight, has been retained by Patriots, who will have home advantage this time around.

Trinbago Knight Riders, who won their fourth title last September, have stuck with the nucleus of their squad, even with the loss of Bravo. They have replaced his death bowling skills with the signing of 36-year-old Ravi Rampaul, who starred in the 2019 T20 Blast for Derbyshire, while Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane has joined to take over leg-spinning duties from Fawad Ahmed. Isuru Udana, the Sri Lankan seamer, has also signed for the reigning champions.

^{Sandeep Lamichhane has signed to represent Trinbago Knight Riders}

Lamichhane spent last season with Jamaica Tallawahs, who have recruited Bangladesh allrounder Shakib and Afghan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad, as well as his compatriot Ibrahim Zadran and Pakistani batsman Haider Ali, but will have to do without the runs of Glenn Phillips – a Tallawahs stalwart.

The Jamaican side flattered to deceive last year despite the best efforts of Phillips and Andre Russell, but St Lucia Zouks – who began the competition in relative disarray with a name change and under new ownership – made it all the way to the final, before losing to Trinbago.

They have replenished their stocks with the overseas signings of Matthew Wade, Wahab Riaz, du Plessis, Usman Qadir and Samit Patel – the only Englishman in the six squads – while also bringing in West Indies seamer Keemo Paul as a marquee player and Alzarri Joseph through the draft.

Fellow West Indies seamer Oshane Thomas was, alongside Joseph, among the more high-profile draft picks; he was signed up by Barbados Tridents – one of two West Indies internationals drafted by Barbados, with off-spinner Ashley Nurse redrafted by the team where he has spent his entire CPL career. Tridents reacted to missing out on the playoff phase of last season by announcing a deal for Amir, while also signing South African allrounder Morris and former Sri Lanka allrounder Thisara Perera as part of a high-profile overseas triumvirate.

Amir is one of several Pakistan internationals set to feature in the competition, with Guyana Amazon Warriors bringing in Shoaib Malik for a second stint with the franchise and his long-time international teammate Mohammad Hafeez.