Faf du Plessis, Anrich Nortje, Matthew Wade, Mohammad Hafeez and Chris Morris were some of the star overseas signings in the CPL draft on Friday.
The squads for the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) were confirmed on Friday after the final draft took place with the teams signing some of the best overseas players around the world and filling the gaps with the players with necessary skill-sets.
India's former Under-19 wicket-keeper batsman Smit Patel, who was part of the winning 2012 side led by Unmukt Chand was also picked in the draft by the two-time champions Barbados Tridents after being listed as an MLC (Major League Cricket) player in the roster. Patel became only the second Indian player to be picked in the CPL draft in history after the ageless leg-spinner featured for the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) last year.
Smit Patel was picked alongside the likes of Chris Morris, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Amir, Azam Khan by the Tridents as their overseas signings while retaining the core of players like skipper Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers, and trading in pacer Oshane Thomas from the Jamaica Tallawahs.
Among the major signings, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots after getting Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo on board picked the likes of South African pacer Anrich Nortje, Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and retained the batsman Rassie van der Dussen among their overseas signings.
The defending champions, TKR while retained most of their core players traded in wicket-keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin for Bravo with the Patriots added the likes of Sandeep Lamichhane and Sri Lankan pacer Isuru Udana to their armoury while retaining Kiwi Colin Munro and Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza in their overseas signings.
Tallawahs, on the other hand, signed Afghan leg-spinner Qais Ahmed, South African all-rounder Migael Pretorius and Pakistan batsman Haider Ali as part of their overseas picks after the marquee selection of Shakib Al Hasan. While, they traded in batsman Jason Mohammad from the Guyana Amazon Warriors and retained the core of Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell and Fidel Edwards.
The Warriors picked the Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who will be joining his countryman Shoaib Malik and the likes of South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir and Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq as part of overseas signings, while retaining their core of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Brendon King.
Last but not the least, the last year's runners-up St Lucia Zouks, who still have to pick a captain did an amazing job in the draft picking the likes of Faf du Plessis, Matthew Wade, Wahab Riaz, Pakistan leg-spinner Usman Qadir and England all-rounder Samit Patel. While they traded in the likes of Keemo Paul and Alzarri Joseph from the Warriors and the Patriots respectively, they retained the core of Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams and Rahkeem Cornwall.
The 9th edition of the CPL will take place at the Warner Park in St Kitts and Nevis starting on August 28, with the final scheduled on September 19.
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