Dear Editor,
The 2023 edition of the Republic Bank Limited Caribbean Premier League will certainly be full of aggression and passion. Even this inaugural Women’s attraction will be full of excitement. The six competing teams are pretty strong on paper.
The eleventh edition of the League will see keen contestation between the six teams. The round-robin playoffs will be hot and exciting. All the teams in the tournament have some of the top T20 players from around the world. The home team, Guyana Amazon Warriors, is a team to watch in this year’s tournament. There are four explosive batsmen in the Amazon Warriors’ batting line-up.
Shimron Hetmyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shai Hope and Chanderpaul Hemraj are good enough to destroy any bowling line-up; and the all-rounders Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul are effective quick bowlers who are capable of scoring quick runs. While Kevin Sinclair is a capable spinner, he could be a hard-hitting batsman, and the genuine spinner Gudakesh Motie is also capable of scoring runs. Azam Khan can also be a match-winner, and the other overseas player, Dwaine Pretorius, is a genuine utility player who can strengthen the batting and bowling efforts.
Defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs will be looking to successfully defend their title. However, their batting will be depending heavily on the likes of Brandon King, Jermaine Blackwood, Shamarh Brooks and young Kirk McKenzie.
All eyes will be on the Barbados Royals. Rovman Powell is a useful all-rounder who can hit the ball very hard. Kyle Mayers, Rassie Van Der Dussen and the young Alick Athanaze are all highly talented batsmen. The Barbados Royals’ bowling will be taken care of by Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, some youths, and the experienced Rahkeem Cornwall.
The Trinbago Night Riders team looks very challenging on paper. However, all eyes will be on the selection of the team. Kieron Pollard, Andre Russel, Sunil Narine, Dwane Bravo, Martin Guptill and Chadwick Walton are all “elder” players, and it will be interesting to see how they will mix with the young “turks”. Nicholas Pooran, Rilee Rossouw and the all-rounders can also win matches with their power-hitting.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots will depend heavily on the likes of Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher and the explosive Sherfane Rutherford, along with their all-rounders, to put runs on the board. Their bowling will be spearheaded by the genuine pace of Dominick Drakes, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, while the young Ashmead Nedd could get among the wickets.
St Lucia Kings team is certainly a team to watch in the tournament. Faf du Plessis, Johnson Charles, and Sikandar Raza, along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, are all batting match winners. Alzarri Joseph will be their main strike bowler.
The 2023 RBLCPL will be highly competitive, and the winner will be the team with the better captain and best fielding. Runs on the board will also be decisive. As for the Warriors, the crowd will expect Shimron Hetmyer to play his best cricket this year.
All eyes will be on this year’s CPL.
Sincerely,
Neil Kumar
