After a co-passenger on the aircraft from the UK to St Kitts and Nevis tested positive for Covid-19, former West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite has been placed in isolation and is unlikely to play for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL opener against Saint Lucia Kings on August 27.
‘I believe my tests were negative. We’ve been quarantined. I’m still not sure how bad it is. I’ve just been ordered to stay quarantined instead of being permitted to roam about the hotel. ‘Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat as you,’ remarked Brathwaite.
Brathwaite was captaining Manchester Originals in The Hundred and had flown from Manchester to Basseterre for the CPL.
‘I’m not sure,’ Brathwaite told espncricinfo about participating in the first CPL match versus Saint Lucia Kings.
‘I haven’t gotten anything formal yet about day one and quarantine days. In his hotel room, Brathwaite said he is skipping and doing sit-ups, trying to be at least physically ready to travel.
Tallawahs have retained Brathwaite and Andre Russell for the current CPL season. Last season, they lost to the eventual champion Trinbago Knight Riders.
‘The tournament should be fun. It won’t be an unbeaten run like Trinidad’s previous year. I expect it to be closer. I believe the teams are more equal. We have a couple possible match-winners. Me, Russell, and Rovman Powell in the centre. We’ve lost Mujeeb and Sandeep, but we’ve got Qais Ahmad, Veerasammy Permaul, and Chris Green. The team has a balanced spin arsenal with a left-arm orthodox, right-arm offspinner and leg-break bowler.
On Monday, the towering West Indian all-rounder renewed his contract with the Sydney Sixers of the Big Bash League (BBL) and pledged to assist them achieve a hat-trick of championships.
The Barbados-born West Indian all-rounder took 16 wickets for the Sixers in the previous tournament.
West Indies won the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Cup after Brathwaite hit four sixes in a row off England’s Ben Stokes in the last over. The BBL begins December.