Republic Bank CPL: Optimistic quartet of Captains as play-offs begin today

The final four of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have been settled with the Guyana Amazon Warriors, St Lucia Kings, Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Royals finishing first to fourth respectively, after a topsy-turvy contest between the Warriors and Knight Riders on Sunday night. The top three teams were only separated by run-rate.
As the 2024 play-offs begin today, Tuesday, October 1 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence with the Knight Riders and Royals in Eliminator 1, in a battle for a chance to challenge one of the top-two teams for a final spot, the top four Captains sat down to share their expectations for the penultimate round.

Guyana Amazon Warriors
The tournament’s defending champions have once again finished at the top of the Republic Bank CPL points table, even after a mighty scare from the Knight Riders. As such, Captain Imran Tahir has related that his troops achieved what they set out to do in the first phase of the tournament and are now looking forward to replicating their success in the play-offs.

“We had a really good start from Antigua and then we come back to hometown Guyana and really grateful to the crowd, their support has been amazing as always. From the team’s point of view, I think we achieved what we wanted to achieve obviously, coming to this stage of the competition, you know, top two and just really happy for the players, the brand of cricket they played and the character they’ve shown in the last few weeks,” the skipper shared as he reflected on the 2024 season thus far.
“Looking forward for a really, really good battle.”
Tahir also addressed the Warriors’ ever-changing opening combination, revealing his openness to trying different options.
“The thing is that, I think, we tried different options and that’s what we’re known for. I think that’s the only answer I can give, but as long as it’s working for team and fits our plan, I don’t mind to try what I need to try,” he said.
Of course, the defending champions will have ‘two bites of the cherry’, as a result of finishing in the top two after the league stage – a positive development as the local franchise looks to make it two titles in two years.

St Lucia Kings
The St Lucia Kings after competing in the 2022 CPL final and making the play-offs in 2023, are steadily establishing themselves as a team to watch in the regional tournament. A second, consecutive play-off finish for the Kings this year is an achievement that their Captain Faf du Plessis holds dear.

“Obviously, your first objective is making the semis, but then on top of that is trying to make that top two teams as it creates a little bit of easier entry into that final. So, it was a huge achievement for us to make sure we get into that top two. So, very proud of the team in our last six games, how we’ve performed,” du Plessis shared.
He added, “Great occasion. Obviously, a nice crowd will be awaited in that match. So, boys are really keen to play that match.”
Labelling the feeling ‘Juju fever’, du Plessis spoke of the certain optimism that has transcended not only the franchise team but the players and island of St Lucia, which is fuelled by track star Julien Alfred’s Paris Olympic Games success.
He reflected on the buzz around St Lucia, “Even sitting on the outside of the CPL when I was watching the Olympics and saw someone from St Lucia winning the gold medal, there was definitely a smile, because you feel associated with the island and even the Caribbean. So, that was good to see.”
“And yeah, we felt that when we were in St Lucia as well, there was a real optimism around, obviously, her performances and proud of everything she’s achieved, but also the cricket we’ve been playing. I think this has been, as far as St Lucia Kings’ seasons has gone, I think the most wins we’ve had in a round of 10 games, so, we are proud of that and our performances this season, but we understand it doesn’t mean much if we can’t go all the way,” the St Lucia skipper went on to add.

Trinbago Knight Riders
In hindsight, the Trinbago Knight Riders may still be admonishing themselves for not being able to finish off the Amazon Warriors when they were reeling on 88-8 on Sunday night. Nonetheless and as expected, their Captain, Kieron Pollard continues to exude confidence as he looks forward to his team’s play-off campaign.

Pollard expressed, “So, for us being able to qualify, I think that was a step in the right direction. We have been battling a lot of injuries in our camp, but you know, kudos to the guys, the way they came out to perform each and every time under that sort of pressure, whereas from that selection perspective, you’re never quite sure who’s going to be on the park.”
“I think, the way how the tournament has panned out, three teams finishing on 14 points shows the strength of the other teams in the tournament as well and the cricket that has been played. Just looking forward to, again, the most important part of the tournament which is the play-offs,” the Trinbago Captain r stated.

Barbados Royals
Now on a four-game losing streak, the Barbados Royals will need a complete change in their performance in order to make it one step closer to the 2024 CPL final. To makes matters merrier, they will need to pull off their first victory against TKR this season, a fact that Captain Rovman Powell is well aware of.

Powell stated, “We played some good cricket in our first 5-6 games. You know, if we’re being totally honest, we fell off in the last few games, Guyana hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us over the years. But this year provides an opportunity for us to change that and the mood is pretty good in the camp. We have a training session today [Monday] just to fine tune those skills as we play tomorrow [today] against a strong Trinidadian team. So, definitely looking forward to it.”
Quizzed about how he has kept his team motivated in such times, Powell shared how he lifted his team’s spirit after a string of losses.
“I think it’s important to lift them. How do you do that? You spend time together and off the field becomes very important when things not going well on the field. You know. Over the duration of the last few days, we spent a lot of time together, whether it be in the team room or in individuals’ rooms. So that is the approach that we take. Hopefully, that approach brings fruit for us,” the Royals skipper said.
The Republic Bank CPL play-offs begin at 19:00h this evening, while Qualifier 1, between the Amazon Warriors and St Lucia Kings will be staged on Wednesday at the same time and venue.