Qais Ahmad of the Jamaica Tallawahs and Naveen-ul-Haq and Waqar Salamkheil of the Guyana Amazon Warriors have been named in the reshuffled squad lists for the upcoming CPL season. The Tallawahs and the Barbados Royals had recruited Ibrahim Zadran and Shafiqullah Ghafari in May, however they were not included in the final rosters.
Afghanistan is in the midst of a huge political upheaval, with the Taliban regaining control of the country following the withdrawal of US soldiers. It remains to be seen how these events would effect cricket, while ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari has stated that he expects the sport to continue as before.
“With the change in government, we will resume our office from tomorrow,” Shinwari told PTI on Monday. “The national camp, which was underway ahead of the Pakistan series in Sri Lanka, will also begin after a two-day break.”
According to ESPN, Naveen, who won the Vitality Blast in England, has already completed his quarantine in St Kitts, which will host the whole CPL season beginning August 26.
Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, three of Afghanistan’s best players, were not on the first roster. They are anticipated to play for Afghanistan in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, which will begin in early September in Hambantota.
Meanwhile, South African allrounder Chris Morris, the Royals’ first-round pick, is said to have withdrawn from the competition due to personal concerns. In his place, the Royals have hired Glenn Phillips, a wicketkeeper-batsman from New Zealand who has been in good form in both the Vitality Blast and The Hundred. Phillips has been a fixture in the CPL since his Auckland coach, Mark O’Donnell, brought him to the Jamaica Tallawahs as a substitute for Shakib Al Hasan in 2017. For the past three seasons, he has led the Tallawahs in scoring.
South Africans Anrich Nortje and Rassie van der Dussen, who were picked by the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, as well as Sri Lanka’s legspin-bowling allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga, will miss the event. South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka, which begins on September 2 and coincides with the CPL, will feature all three players.
The Saint Lucia Kings, on the other hand, have kept captain Faf du Plessis. After failing to rehabilitate enough from a concussion suffered during the PSL two months ago, du Plessis was just ruled out of the Hundred. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to play in the CPL again.
Isuru Udana, a seam-bowling allrounder who resigned from international cricket after Sri Lanka’s white-ball home series against India, is expected to play for the reigning champions Trinbago Knight Riders. At TKR, he’ll be joined by Tim Seifert and Yasir Shah. Shah, who is now with the Pakistani team in the Caribbean, will take the place of Sandeep Lamichhane, while Seifert, who was not initially retained by TKR at the draught, will take the place of Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza. From August 27, Zimbabwe will play five Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals in Ireland.
Ravi Bopara (Patriots), Samit Patel (Kings), and Jake Lintott (Royals) have all signed late deals with England. They are expected to arrive in the Caribbean after competing in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals for their respective countries, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Lintott, a left-arm wristspinner from Somerset, did not even register for the Hundred draught nearly two years ago, but he is now the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with ten strikes in seven games for the Southern Brave.
Tim David, a Singapore-born hitter for the Hobart Hurricanes, will take over at the Kings in lieu of Matthew Wade. David enjoyed a spectacular PSL season before continuing his solid play at Surrey. Nortje will be replaced at the Patriots by Paul van Meekeren of the Netherlands, who recently played for Durham in the Royal London one-day cup.
From August 26 through September 15, Warner Park will host the full CPL. The 33-match tournament will let spectators to fill the 8,000-seat venue to up to 50% capacity if they present proof of vaccination before entering the stadium. In the CPL bubble, players, support personnel, commentators, and broadcast crew can move directly to the IPL bubble in the UAE.
Jamaica Tallawahs: Andre Russell, Chris Green, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Haider Ali, Chadwick Walton, Fidel Edwards, Qais Ahmad, Jason Mohammed, Migael Pretorius, Kennar Lewis, Shamarh Brooks, Veerasammy Permaul, Abijhai Mansingh, Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, Ryan Persaud.
Saint Lucia Kings: Faf du Plessis, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Tim David, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Usman Qadir, Samit Patel, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph.
Trinbago Knight Riders: Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Yasir Shah, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Tim Seifert, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julien, Ali Khan.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots: Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Ravi Bopara, Paul van Meekeren, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Fawad Ahmed, Devon Thomas, Rayad Emrit, Asif Ali, Colin Archibald, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes, Joshua Da Silva, Mykile Louis.
Barbados Royals: Glenn Phillips, Jason Holder, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Amir, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Oshane Thomas, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr, Azam Khan, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Ashley Nurse, Jake Lintott, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, Smit Patel.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Nicholas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohammad Hafeez, Brandon King, Naveen-ul-Haq, Romario Shepherd, Waqar Salamkheil, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Nial Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd.