Guyanese players depart for CPL duty on August 2-3

The Guyana Amazon Warriors players will travel to the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago on August 2-3 via Caribbean Premier League-chartered flights, and will go straight into quarantine at the Trinidad Hilton for the Government-mandated 14 days.

Players resident in Trinidad & Tobago will join the “quarantine bubble” on August 10, seven days into quarantine.
Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd and Anthony Bramble will depart Guyana’s shores, while Chandrapaul Hemraj will also join the camp.
GAW Manager Omar Khan has said the absence of fans will do little to dampen the energy and intensity his players will bring to the matches when the tournament bowls off on August 18 across both venues in Trinidad and Tobago.

The consistent GAW, runners-up to the Barbados Tridents last year, will be looking to win the tournament this year. Last season, the Warriors had their best chance to win this tournament for the first time when they won all their matches in the group stage, but they fell short in the final, which was also held in Trinidad.
“We look forward to maintaining that level of performance from last year, when we went unbeaten in the preliminary rounds,” said Khan. “This year, we want to make sure we do not falter in the final. With all matches playing in Trinidad at two venues: Queen’s Park Oval and Brian Lara Cricket Academy, it will give us an opportunity to assess the conditions better,” Khan told a Trinidad and Tobago publication earlier this week.

With or without fans, Khan has said, the rivalries will still be intense, with Caribbean players always bringing their passion and pride to the matches.
“At the end of the day, it is competitive cricket; and these cricketers want to make a name for themselves and build their reputations. This is also the first T20 tournament post COVID-19, and with the IPL coming up after CPL, everyone will want to make an impression. So, I think this year’s tournament will be very intense. In fact, I think it will be a lot more competitive, and the cricket will be of a very high standard,” Khan predicted.

“When you look at it, there (is rivalry) among the Caribbean players, and, over the years, that has built up. The big-name players are still around —Andre Russell with the Tallawahs; Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo. (They) are still there (with TKR); and we have (Shimron) Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, and young Sherfane Rutherford and Nicholas Pooran with us at Guyana Amazon Warriors,” he continued.

“You also have Rayad Emrit and Denesh Ramdin now with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots; and when they come up against the other (their former) teams, they will want to prove a point. So, I think this year’s tournament will be a highly competitive and highly entertaining tournament, despite the fact there will be no crowd,” he added.