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Now that the West Indies series is done it is time for the Caribbean Premier League, which will include the best T20 stars. Aside from the presence of cricket top performers, which is seemingly a promise of a tournament full of thrills, there are still other things that you can look forward to in CPL 2019.
If you are up to date with the latest cricket news, you will know who will be joining each team for this year's Caribbean Premier League. But if you are not clear on the details, here is what we know so far:
1. Kieron Pollard captains Trinbago Knight Riders
The addition of Kieron Pollard to Trinbago Knight Riders is one thing that excites fans. Pollard, who previously captained St Lucia Stars in the previous season, auditioned for Knight Riders. For the first time, Pollard will represent the Knight Riders after he was turned for St Lucia and Barbados Trident. Pollard will lead the team in his debut since its captain, Dwayne Bravo couldn't make it to the first season due to a fractured finger.
Cricket lovers will want to see how Pollard will lead the Trinbago Knight Riders. What will be his contributions to the team? Will he successfully lead the group to its victory?
2. Chris Gayle leads Jamaica Tallawahs
Although it appears that the international career of Chris Gayle is over, he is ready to resume his career in the Caribbean Premier League. He will be the marquee player for his home franchise, Jamaica Tallawahs. In 2013 and 2016, Gayle helped the team gain two titles wherein they top-scored in the finals against Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Gayle may have helped the Tallawahs to bag two titles, but will he manage to do it again this time? How can Gayle lead Jamaica to their third title?
3. Lendl Simmons's debut in TKR
Aside from Pollard, another player will debut in the team for his home franchise. Initially, he was the temporary replacement for Colin Munro who is in Sri Lanka for international duty. But this time, he will be officially part of the team. What will be the impact of Simmons's presence on the team?
4. Alex Hales joins Barbados Tridents
England batsman Alex Hales is looking to join the T20 World Cup in Australia next year. Hales is the current top-scorer for Nottinghamshire in the Vitality Blast and will most likely to go to the Caribbean and join Barbados Tridents. His impressive performance in the knockouts for Nottinghamshire is a ticket to link up with the Tridents.
Later this year, Hales will be named as one of the high-profile names in the Mzansi Super League in South Africa and the Bangladesh Premier League. Although he wasn't very lucky in the England set-up, he was the first pick at the CPL draft held earlier this year.
It is expected that Hales will patch up the weakness of in their lack of batting power and depth on paper. It is noted that Barbados has good pace-bowling in Jason and Chemar Holders and a spin attack from Ashley Nurse, Sandeep Lamichhane and left-armer Joshua Bishop, but with Alex in the team, they probably will have a huge edge now.
5. The T20 Lineup
Of course, everyone is looking forward to the lineup of each team for this determines how powerful each team is and if it is worth their bets.
For Knight Riders, Kieron Pollard, the Bravos, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons Colin Munro and seam-bowling allrounder Jimmy Neesham are dubbed as stars of the team.
Jamaica Tallawahs will be led by Gayle along with Andre Russell Jr, Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell Rovman Powell. Meanwhile, Carlos Brathwaite will be the head of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots which also features globetrotters Fabian Allen, England's Laurie Evans and Evin Lewis.
Although the Sri Lanka pair of Lasith Malinga and Niroshan Dickwella will not be joining St Lucia this season, they are still in luck to have with them Colin de Grandhomme, Najibullah Zadran and Hardus Viljoen of South Africa. The team also drafted in Australian legspinner Fawad Ahmed, who was known as the top wicket-taker in CPL 2018.
Legspinners Imran Tahir and Qais Ahmad will lead Guyana plus wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran, who has moved from Barbados to Guayana as their marquee player.
Meanwhile, the USA will be represented by Ali Khan (Trinbago), Xavier Marshall (Jamaica), Aaron Jones (St Kitts & Nevis), Saurabh Netravalkar (Guyana) and Hayden Walsh Jr (Barbados).
If this will not excite you, we don't know what will! Who do you think will bring home the bacon for Caribbean Premier League 2019?
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