CPL team of the tournament: Evin Lewis, Roston Chase and Dominic Drakes make the cut... but who completes the XI?

The Cricketer picks 11 standout players from this year's Caribbean Premier League which saw St Kitts and Nevis Patriots crowned as champions

Evin Lewis (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)

On pitches that could be slow, where the likes of Colin Munro struggled to strike at a rate over 100, Lewis’ return of 426 runs at a strike rate of 163.21 is mightily impressive. He finishes the competition as its second highest run-scorer, just 20 behind leader Roston Chase, while having played a game fewer. And his whopping 38 sixes put him clear at the top of the maximums leaderboard by some 13 blows. It’s been a serious campaign from a batter whose stock is ever rising.

Kennar Lewis (Jamaica Tallawahs)

The Tallawahs opener may not have enjoyed quite as fruitful a tournament as his Patriots namesake, but he nonetheless had a fine campaign that ended with 262 runs to his name, scored at an impressive rate of 164.77. His 56 against finalists St Lucia Kings came from just 24 deliveries, and was perhaps the most impressive of his knocks in the competition.

^{Roston Chase was named player of the tournament}

Faf Du Plessis (St Lucia Kings)

After missing the entirety of the Northern Superchargers’ inaugural Men’s Hundred campaign as a result of a concussion suffered in the Pakistan Super League, you would have forgiven the South African for being a little rusty on CPL duty. But the franchise circuit veteran proved to be anything but, after his 277 runs – including an unbeaten 120 – made him the fourth highest run-scorer in the competition.

Roston Chase (St Lucia Kings)

Leading run-scorer? Check. Player of the tournament? Check. Call-up to the West Indies T20 World Cup squad? Triple check. Chase has been utterly dominant in the Kings’ middle order, striking four fifties and 59 boundaries on the way to his final tally of 446 runs. And that’s before mentioning his off-spin, which saw him take 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.92. This edition of the CPL has been Roston Chase’s tournament.

Tim David (St Lucia Kings)

The Singapore international completes a Kings engine room in the middle order. David has had a meteoric rise to prominence this summer, after landing deals in The Hundred and the IPL before linking up with St Lucia. He finishes the CPL as the third highest run-scorer, bludgeoning 282 from his 12 games – no mean feat considering the relative lack of balls he had to work with coming in at No.5 and No.6.

^{Dominic Drakes claimed 16 wickets in the tournament}

Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders)

It was a relatively quiet tournament with the bat for the Trinidadian, but his typically miserly displays with the ball helped him pick up 12 wickets from his 10 games. Going for just 4.37 an over, Narine was the most economical of any bowler to have played the majority of the tournament. He may not have made the cut for the T20 World Cup, but Narine is still a world-class operator. 

Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

Joint second in the wicket-takers table with 18, Shepherd’s CPL displays were of such quality that they prompted the President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali, to question his omission from West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad. His 18 wickets came from just nine innings at an average of 14.11, while a batting strike-rate of 165.15 made him one of the tournament’s most valuable death hitters.

Dominic Drakes (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)

Drakes’ 16 scalps place him fourth on the wickets chart, but it will be his performances with the bat that live longer in the memory of many a Patriots fan. Arriving at the crease, four wickets down in the final against the Zouks, Drakes threw caution to the wind, ravaging an unbeaten 48 from 24 deliveries to seal the title for the Patriots. A tournament-winning performance that will do wonders for his reputation.

^{Trinbago Knight Riders' Ravi Rampaul}

Odean Smith (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

The Jamaica-born pacer finishes the competition as its second highest wicket taker, with 18 to his name. Used as somewhat of an enforcer by the Amazon Warriors, Smith’s pace and length proved hard to handle for batters. By no means the finished article, Smith’s potential is endless: he will be some bowler in years to come.

Akeal Hosein (Trinbago Knight Riders)

In a spin-heavy tournament, Hosein emerges as one of the stand-out tweakers. His economy rate of 4.92 is second only to that of Narine, the pair teaming up to form a formidable spin duo for the Knight Riders. The left-armer kept it tight, often bowling in the powerplay to choke the opposition’s openers with great effect.

Ravi Rampaul (Trinbago Knight Riders)

At 36, Rampaul came into the tournament with little left to prove. He emerges from it as the stand-out bowler and leading wicket-taker, with a thoroughly deserved recall to the West Indies T20 World Cup squad in the bag too. His 19 grabs came at an average of 16.21, and his economy of 7.96 is impressive for a seamer operating primarily at the business ends of the innings. Rampaul is arguably the biggest winner of 2021’s edition of the CPL.