Legendary South African batsman Jacques Kallis has been confirmed to join the draft list for next year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament.
The news comes following last Friday’s announcement that the CPL is set to offer contracts to young cricketers from the Caribbean and ICC Americas region.
The official CPL 2015 draft is tentatively scheduled to take place in early 2015.
Speaking about joining the draft, Kallis, said in a CPL release yesterday: “I have really enjoyed playing in the Caribbean with the Proteas and am looking forward to hopefully returning for the CPL. It is an amazing place with amazing people and I am excited to see what team I will be playing for. CPL has produced some fantastic cricket and the fans really bring a special atmosphere so I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
CPL International Cricket Director, Tom Moody, said: “The addition of these cricketing greats to the roster for CPL 2015 is testament to the growing success of the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ which has grown significantly since its inaugural year. And, with players of this calibre getting on board, CPL is offering young Caribbean cricketers a great opportunity to test their skills against some of the best of their generation.”
Kallis is regarded as one of the greatest of the game’s all-rounders having scored more than 11,000 runs and taken 250 wickets in both one-day and Test match cricket as of 2013. In 2008, he was named Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2008 Wisden for his performances in 2007 in addition to being the “ICC Test Player of the Year” and ICC Player of the Year in 2005.
