Caribbean Premier League 2014: Who Went Where in the Player Draft?
The player draft for the 2014 Caribbean Premier League took place yesterday at Triple Century Sports Bar in Kingston, Jamaica, a venue owned by Chris Gayle.
Now each team has its roster of 19 players, with franchises permitted to trade selections with one another until Sunday.
The draft itself took place over 13 rounds, with teams allowed salary cap space of $350,000 with which to purchase their players.
However, in light of yesterday’s events, let’s take a look at which players were selected by which franchises, and how their squads currently stack up against one another.
Antigua Hawksbills
West Indies Franchise Player: Marlon Samuels
International Franchise Player: Saeed Ajmal
Players drafted: Sheldon Cottrell, David Hussey, Thisara Perera, Carlos Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Devon Thomas, Ben Laughlin, Orlando Peters, Danza Hyatt, Miguel Cummins, Gavin Tonge, Justin Athanaze, Rahkeem Cornwall.
Captained by Marlon Samuels, the Antigua Hawksbills batting will be led by the vastly experienced David Hussey and the exciting Sri Lankan Thisara Perera.
On the domestic side, Kieran Powell will be looking to force his way back into the international reckoning after a disappointing home series against England.
The bowling will be led by West Indians Sheldon Cottrell and Carlos Brathwaite, while Saeed Ajmal will be hoping to profit on the dusty pitches of the Caribbean.
Barbados Tridents
West Indies Franchise Player: Kieron Pollard
International Franchise Player: Shoaib Malik
Players drafted: Dwayne Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Ravi Rampaul, Jason Holder, Neil McKenzie, Rayad Emrit, Ashley Nurse, Imran Nazir, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich, Raymon Reifer, Akeal Hosein, Kyle Mayers.
The Barbados Tridents have a very strong squad on paper, with Bangladesh’s superstar all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan joining a stellar line-up of players.
Dwayne Smith is very capable in Twenty20 cricket, while the selections of South African Neil McKenzie and Pakistani Imran Nazir bring a great deal of experience to the batting.
Ravi Rampaul will be relied upon to lead the bowling attack, with Jason Holder one individual who will be looking to use this tournament to push his case for further international recognition.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
West Indies Franchise Player: Sunil Narine
International Franchise Player: Corey Anderson
Players drafted: Mohammad Hafeez, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Martin Guptill, Krishmar Santokie, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Navin Stewart, Steven Jacobs, Leon Johnson, Trevon Griffith, Robin Bacchus.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors squad is dripping with international experience and quality, starting at the top of the order where Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan will be joined by Martin Guptill of New Zealand.
Lendl Simmons is a crucial player for the West Indies in the shortest form of the game and likely will be for Guyana, while Denesh Ramdin brings enormous experience behind the stumps.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2013 tournament—Krishmar Santokie—was retained by Guyana and will again lead their bowling attack.
Jamaica Tallawahs
West Indies Franchise Player: Chris Gayle
International Franchise Player: Muttiah Muralitharan
Players drafted: Andre Russell, Ahmed Shehzad, Adam Voges, Nikita Miller, Jerome Taylor, Juan Theron, Chadwick Walton, Dave Bernard Jr, Andrew Richardson, Carlton Baugh, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Odean Brown.
Another side who have a well-balanced squad filled with experience is Jamaica, who have added some big names to join captain Chris Gayle and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Andre Russell is one who is enormously capable with bat and ball, while Ahmed Shehzad has shown great potential in international cricket with Pakistan.
Adam Voges and Juan Theron are two interesting international selections, and both will be hoping to use this tournament to force their way back into their respective countries’ squads.
The bowling has a distinctly domestic feel, with spinner Nikita Miller and seamer Jerome Taylor both bringing experience of the international game into this competition.
St. Lucia Zouks
West Indies Franchise Player: Darren Sammy
International Franchise Player: Brad Hodge
Players drafted: Kevin Pietersen, Johnson Charles, Sohail Tanvir, Andre Fletcher, Shane Shillingford, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Garey Mathurin, Keddy Lesporis, Tino Best, Mervin Matthews, Sunil Walford Ambris, Tonito Willett, Liam Sebastien.
Last year’s bottom side, the St. Lucia Zouks surprised precisely no one in selecting former England batsman Kevin Pietersen with the No. 1 overall pick.
Pietersen joins a team with plenty of experience, including International Franchise Player Brad Hodge, whose international career with Australia has seen something of a revival.
There are some interesting names amongst the bowlers too, with West Indian international Shane Shillingford selected along with Sohail Tanvir.
Tino Best is also a notable name to be picked up by the Zouks, while Roelof Van Der Merwe will make the long trip from South Africa for this tournament.
Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel
West Indies Franchise Player: Dwayne Bravo
International Franchise Player: Ross Taylor
Players drafted: Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Kevon Cooper, Nasir Jamshed, Kevin O'Brien, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Shannon Gabriel, Fidel Edwards, Jason Mohammad, Kennar Lewis, Delorn Johnson.
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel are another to put together an intriguing squad of players, with many having experienced international cricket and other domestic Twenty20 leagues.
Darren Bravo joins his half-brother Dwayne Bravo, while Samuel Badree and Sulieman Benn will lead the spin attack, having both played for their country in the past.
The exciting Irish all-rounder Kevin O’Brien will also return to the Red Steel after playing in last year’s tournament, while seamers Shannon Gabriel and Fidel Edwards will be keen to make an impact.