The St Lucia Zouks have announced the Caribbean players they would be retaining for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League tournament.
Chris Gayle
The Zouks have chosen to retain or sign eight Caribbean players ahead of the CPL draft, including all-time leading T20 run scorer Chris Gayle and exciting St Lucian batsman Kimani Melius, who is the team’s emerging player.
Kesrick Williams
Among the retentions are Captain Daren Sammy, opening batsman Andre Fletcher, all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall, and bowlers Kesrick Williams, Obed McKoy and Kavem Hodge.
Captain of the St Lucia Zouks, Daren Sammy, said: “I don’t have to tell you about Chris Gayle.
Rahkeem Cornwall
He is the most successful T20 batsman in the world, and I’m happy to be playing with him. I think he will be focused and motivated for the season.
“Andre Fletcher has been with us since the inception of the league. He carries the true spirit of St Lucia Zouks, and he is a great entertainer on the field.
“Kesrick Williams is one of the top T20 bowlers over the last few years in international cricket.
“Rahkeem Cornwall really bosses the powerplay overs, and (his) partnering up with Chris Gayle is going to be something exciting to watch.
“I’m excited about Kimani Melius because he is from St Lucia. He is one of the hardest working youngsters I’ve ever seen. With the experience of Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher, he could really benefit from this CPL exposure. Obed McCoy is a talented left-arm fast bowler out of St Vincent. He is a very skilful bowler, can’t wait to see him play a full season for the St Lucia Zouks. Kavem Hodge is another talented all-rounder we have. He works really hard on his game; he had a pretty good first class season as well”.
St Lucia Zouks coach, Andy Flower, said: “I’m really looking forward to having two Caribbean legends in our dressing room:Daren Sammy, for his outstanding leadership; and Chris Gayle, for his experience and explosive stroke play. They will be central to our chances of doing well in the tournament. Kesrick Williams and Obed McCoy are going to be the mainstays of our seam attack, both operating in very different ways but both extremely effective in this form of the game. I am very excited that we have the youth and potential of the West Indies U19 World Cup captain Kimani Melius with us. A St Lucia native, it is brilliant to have him on board, and (I’m) looking forward to seeing how he progresses when he gets his chance.”
While international retentions and signings will be announced at a later date, teams can this year retain as many players from their 2019 squads as they wish. They could also transfer players to other teams and sign emerging players.
The CPL is scheduled to take place between 19 August and 26 September, but tournament organisers are currently closely watching the situation with COVID-19, and are liaising with medical advisors and governments. A decision on whether the tournament can proceed as planned, or at a different time, will be made as soon as possible.
