A record number of local and international stars have been officially registered for the HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft which takes place on 11 February in Barbados.
Commenting on this year’s record list of applicants both in the West Indies and across the world, Director of International Cricket for CPL, Tom Moody said: “Some of the leading names in world cricket have signalled their intentions to join the biggest party in sport at the CPL, so this year’s competition is sure to be our most exciting to date.
“Outside of our ‘marquee’ players, there are international players of the highest standard including a host of World champions, and a myriad of players who continue to entertain and enrich the global game.
“It is without doubt our most competitive roster and it is exciting to see such a high standard across the established and emerging nations around the world. That players from 14 nations have entered the Draft illustrates the global reach of the CPL, and with a sizable increase in the West Indies contingent which is up by over one-fifth this year, it is clear that the T20 game is growing from strength to strength.”
Amongst the list of West Indies talent who are in the frame for the six franchises this year are stars of the calibre of Chris Gayle (a winner of the inaugural competition with Jamaica Tallawahs back in 2013), West Indies World T20 captain Darren Sammy and Lendl Simmons.
Darren and Dwayne Bravo are set to join the number one ranked T20 international bowler Samuel Badree, as well as Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard, who was such a driving force in Barbados reaching last year’s final before being edged by eventual winners Trinidad & Tobago.
To supplement the outstanding pool of local talent on display, some of the biggest names in international cricket will bid to join the five marquee players – Faf du Plessis, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara and Shane Watson – who were confirmed last week.
Amongst the assembled overseas stars is a 34-strong South African contingent headed by prolific top order batsman Hashim Amla, leg-spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowler Morne Morkel.
There is sure to be a strong Pakistan presence in the tournament, which takes place from the end of June until the beginning of August, with one of the stars of last year’s CPL for Barbados Shoaib Malik included amongst a plethora of big names including Shahid Afridi, Misbah-Ul-Haq (who has played in both St Lucia and Barbados to date) and left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz.
Across the continents, there will be seven Bangladesh (including Shakib Al Hasan who is one of the finest all-rounders in world cricket), while there will also be seven Afghanistan players which is indicative of their recent rise in the shortest format of the game. Sri Lanka, currently ranked third in the T20 team rankings, will have 20 representatives in the frame including legends Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga will be looking to join their compatriot Sangakkara.
There will be 23 players from Australia in the Draft, including a blend of experience in Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey allied to a crop of up-and-coming talent, and a further 11 New Zealanders, including the likes of Nathan McCullum.
Of the current ICC World T20 player rankings, nine of the top 20 batsmen could be set to feature in this summer’s CPL: du Plessis (fourth place), Guptill (fifth), Gayle (seventh), Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza (eighth), Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad (ninth), Dilshan (13th), Brendon McCullum (15th), Watson (17th) and Umar Akmal (18th).
Four of the top five bowlers in the T20 rankings are also in the frame with the list headed by West Indian leg-spinner Badree, Afridi (third), Sachithra Senanayake (fourth) and Graeme Cremer (fifth), with Malinga (seventh) and Tahir (ninth) also amongst the leading lights in contention.
With coveted spots up for grabs from the ICC Americas region, there is sure to be a lot of interest across North America as players from Canada (seven) and the USA (10), who recently competed in the Nagico Super 50 competition, all aim to book one of the six coveted places.
England (two), Ireland (two), Scotland (two) and Netherlands (one) will be the European representatives hoping to secure a place in the CPL.
Sixteen of the 157 West Indies players to register have already been retained ahead of the draft, leaving 141 eligible for selection on draft day. This is 25 more than the 116 who vied for spots at last year’s Draft and represents a 22% increase. Coupled with an 18% increase in international player registration, this is further illustration of the CPL’s growing stature as one of the foremost tournaments in T20 cricket.
Players Registered for 2016 CPL Draft*:
AFGHANISTAN (7): Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Zadran Najibullah, Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohamad Asghar Stanikzai, Shapoor Zadran
AUSTRALIA (23): Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Doug Bollinger, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk (Hawksbills 2014), Cameron Gannon, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Brad Hodge (Warriors 2015), Brad Hogg (Hawksbills 2014), Michael Hussey, Ben Laughlin (Hawksbills 2014), Tim Ludeman, Chris Lynn (Tallawahs 2015), Tim Paine, Jimmy Pearson, Nathan Reardon, Ben Rohrer, Alex Ross, Shaun Tait, Jonathan Wells, Adam Zampa
BANGLADESH (7): Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Keyes, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar
CANADA (7): Navneet Dhaliwal**, Nikhil Dutta (Patriots, 2015), Jeremy Gordon**, Ruvindu Gunesekera**, Nitish Kumar**, Hamza Tariq**, Srimantha Wijeyeratne**
ENGLAND (2): Azeem Rafiq, Owais Shah (Tallawahs 2014)
IRELAND (2): George Dockrell, Kevin O’Brien (Red Steel 2013 & 2014)
NETHERLANDS (1): Mudassar Bukhari
NEW ZEALAND (11): Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Anton Cevcich, Grant Elliott, Roneel Hira, Nathan McCullum (Zouks, 2015), Colin Munro, Tarun Nethula, Ish Sodhi, Ben Wheeler, George Worker
PAKISTAN (37): Ehsan Adil, Shahid Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal (Hawksbills 2013), Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal (Amazon Warriors 2015), Fawad Alam, Anwar Ali, Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Mohammed Amir, Muhammad Asif, Hammad Azam, Zulfiqar Babar, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Mohammed Hafeez, Muhammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan, Shahzaib Hassan Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Shaoib Malik (Tridents, 2015), Saqlain Mushtaq, Rana Naveed, Abdur Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Ahmad Shahzad, Sohail Tanveer (Zouks 2014 & Patriots 2015), Misbah-ul-Haq (Zouks 2013 & Tridents 2015), Tofeeq Umer, Imad Wasim
SCOTLAND (2): Majid Haq, Safyann Sharif
SOUTH AFRICA (34): Qaasim Adams, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, Henry Davids (Zouks, 2014 and 2015), Marchant de Lange (Warriors, 2015), Cameron Delport (Red Steel, 2015), Dean Elgar, Herschelle Gibbs (Zouks, 2013), Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Christiaan Jonker, Eddie Leie (Zouks, 2015), Sisanda Magala, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Robin Petersen (Tridents, 2015), Dwaine Pretorius, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi (Patriots, 2015), Mthokozisi Shezi, Jon Jon Smuts, Imran Tahir, Hendrik Erasmus Van Der Dussen, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Morne Van Wyk, Stjaan Van Zyl, Hardus Viljoen, David Weise, Khaya Zondo
SRI LANKA (20): Dushmantha Chameera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Lasith Malinga (Amazon Warriors 2013), Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis (Tridents 2015), Dilshan Munaweera (Tridents 2015), Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Gihan Rupasinghe, Prasanna Seekkuge, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Kaushal Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kithuruwan Vithanage
USA (10): Danial Ahmed**, Timory Allen**, Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan**, Alex Amsterdam**, Thomas “Boomer” Collins, Akeem Dodson**, Muhammad Ghous**, Timil Patel**, Hammad Shahid**, Steven Taylor** (Tridents, 2015)
WEST INDIES – drafted in 2015 (67): Justin Athanaze (Patriots), Samuel Badree (Red Steel), Christopher Barnwell (Warriors), Ronsford Beaton (Warriors), Sulieman Benn (Red Steel), David Bernard Jnr (Tallawahs), Tino Best (Zouks), Devendra Bishoo (Warriors), Jermaine Blackwood (Tallawahs), Nkrumah Bonner (Tallawahs), Carlos Brathwaite (Patriots), Darren Bravo (Red Steel), Dwayne Bravo (Red Steel), Jonathan Carter (Tridents), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Warriors), Johnson Charles (Zouks), Kevon Cooper (Red Steel), Kyle Corbin (Tridents, 2015), Sheldon Cotterell (Patriots), Miguel Cummins (Hawksbills 2014 and Red Steel 2015), Derrone Davis (Red Steel), Narsingh Deaonarine (Warriors and Tallawahs), Mark Deyal (Red Steel, WI U19), Shane Dowrich (Patriots), Rayad Emrit (Tridents), Fidel Edwards (Red Steel and Zouks), Andre Fletcher (Zouks), Assad Fudadin (Warriors), Shannon Gabriel (Red Steel 2013-14 and Zouks 2015), Chris Gayle (Tallawahs), Trevon Griffith (Warriors), Shai Hope (Tridents), Akeal Hosein (Tridents), Delorn Johnson (Zouks), Keddy Lesporis (Zouks), Evin Lewis (Patriots), Ramaal Lewis (Tallawahs, WI U19), Horace Miller (Tallawahs), Nikita Miller (Tallawahs), Jason Mohammed (Red Steel), Sunil Narine (Red Steel), Ashley Nurse (Tridents), William Perkins (Tridents 2014 and Red Steel 2015), Verasammy Permaul (Warriors), Orlando Peters (Hawksbills 2014 and Patriots 2015), Kieron Pollard (Tridents), Nicholas Pooran (Red Steel 2013 and Patriots 2015), Gidron Pope (Zouks, WI U19), Denesh Ramdin (Warriors), Ravi Rampaul (Tridents), Raymon Reifer (Patriots, Tridents), Kemar Roach (Zouks, 2015), Andre Russell (Tallawahs), Darren Sammy (Zouks), Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie (Warriors, Tallawahs), Javon Sarles (Red Steel), Liam Sebastien (Zouks), Lendl Simmons (Warriors), Dwayne Smith (Tridents), Navin Stewart (Warriors 2014 and Tridents 2015), Jacques Taylor (Patriots), Jerome Taylor (Tallawahs), Devon Thomas (Patriots), Chadwick Walton (Tallawahs), Jomel Warrican (Patriots), Tonito Willett (Patriots), Paul Wintz (Warriors)
WEST INDIES – undrafted in 2015 (90): Adrian Ali, Sunil Ambris (Zouks, 2014), Jonathan Augustus, Robin Bacchus (Warriors, 2014), Orlando Baker, Miles Bascombe, Carlton Baugh (Tallawahs, 2014), Alton Beckford, Quinton Boatswain, Nelson Bolan, Anthony Bramble, Justin Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Odean Brown (Tallawahs, 2014), Cassius Burton, John Campbell, Yannick Cariah, Khismar Catlin, Bryan Charles, Roston Chase, Derwin Christian, Rahkeem Cornwall (Hawksbills, 2014), Royston Crandon, Daron Cruickshank, Dane Currency, Kirk Edwards (Tridents replacement, 2014), Jonathan Foo (Warriors, 2013), Nicholson Gordon, Jamar Griffith, Justin Guillen, Jahmar Hamilton, Keon Harding, Jermaine Harrison, Ryan Hinds, Alcindo Holder, Chaim-Alexis Holder, Kyle Hope, Danza Hyatt (Hawksbills, 2014), Damion Jacobs, Steven Jacobs (Warriors, 2014), Jonruss Jaggesar, Ricky Jaipaul, Amir Jangoo, Shane Jeffers, Leon Johnson (Warriors 2014), Keon Joseph, Kavesh Kantasingh, Steven Ketwaroo, Imran Khan (Tridents replacement, 2015), Brandon King, Yannick Leonard, Kennar Lewis (Red Steel, 2014), Steve Liburd, Jeremiah Louis, Garey Mathurin (Zouks,2014), Andre McCarthy, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Wayne Morgan, Shayne Moseley, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Yannick Ottley, Shane Parris, Christopher Powell, Kieran Powell (Hawksbills, 2013), Rovman Powell, Kristopher Ramsaran, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Daniel St Clair, Dario Seale, Akeel Seetal, Shane Shillingford (Zouks, 2013-14), Gajanand Singh, Vishaul Singh, Kerwyn Sirju, Devon Smith (Zouks, 2013), Michael Sobers, Nicholas Sookdeosingh, Kevin Stoute, Jameel Stuart, Aldaine Thomas, Shacaya Thomas (Hawksbills replacement, 2014), Gavin Tonge (Hawksbills, 2014), Gavin Wallace, Hayden Walsh, Kelbert Walters, Marlon Welcome-Goodman, Kenroy Williams, Philton Williams
ZIMBABWE (3): Elton Chigumbura (Tridents 2014), Graeme Cremer, Hamilton Masakadza
*This total excludes the six “marquee” players; Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum (both New Zealand), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) and Shane Watson (Australia), with the final name to be announced ahead of the Player Draft.
**Denotes ICC Americas squad members
