CPL Draft: Rashid Khan joins Barbados Tridents as defending champions strengthen

Alex Hales and Harry Gurney – both of Nottinghamshire – were the only two English players picked up

Rashid Khan was the standout name snapped up at the Caribbean Premier League draft on Monday as 48-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe became the first Indian player to get picked up by a CPL franchise.

The draft took place remotely before the teams were rolled out during a subsequent show streamed on the tournament’s YouTube channel.

Alex Hales and Harry Gurney – both of Nottinghamshire and Barbados Tridents – were the only two English players picked up, though that may be in some part owing to the likely clash of dates between the competition and the resumption of the English county game.

The CPL is due to take place between August 18 and September 10, with English cricket set to return on August 1. The Cricketer understands that the T20 Blast will take priority for both, while their availability for the Tridents will depend on the shape of the English schedule. Neither were included in England’s 55-man training squad ahead of the international summer.

If they are able to reprise their roles with the competition’s reigning champions, they will be joined by Afghan spinner Khan, who did not play in last year’s tournament, having committed to featuring in the Euro T20 Slam as an icon player. That event, which had been due to take place in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, was postponed.

Tambe, meanwhile, has signed for Trinbago Knight Riders, the 2017 and 2018 winners, who also re-signed Fawad Ahmed, the Australian leg-spinner after a year away.

Head coach Brendon McCullum has also brought in Tim Seifert, a successor of his on the international stage – a hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman.

Guyana Amazon Warriors, who topped the round-robin league last year, winning all ten of their games before falling at the final hurdle, have retained the majority of their squad, including Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran and Keemo Paul. They have filled the void of the absent Shoaib Malik with the signing of New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, while Afghan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq is another new buy.

He joins compatriots Mohammad Nabi – now of St Lucia Zouks, 15-year-old Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Khan.

Elsewhere, Australians Chris Lynn and Ben Dunk will play for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, who have also recruited Ish Sodhi and Sohail Tanvir. Rassie van der Dussen returns to the franchise for a second spell. They also feature a Caribbean core of Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell and captain Rayad Emrit.

Jamaica Tallawahs, having parted company with Chris Gayle, are seeking a fresh start after a poor 2019. Sandeep Lamichhane and Tabraiz Shamsi continue the draft’s wrist-spinning theme. Pakistani batsman Asif Ali has also signed up.

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