Patriots sign Ramdin; Emrit named captain

ST KITTS and Nevis Patriots have confirmed the signing of former Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) wicket-keeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin and have also announced that Rayad Emrit will lead the franchise for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament.

The Patriots in a media release on Wednesday said, “The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have announced the Caribbean players they will be retaining for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League. International retentions and signings will be announced at a later date…the Patriots have chosen to retain or sign seven Caribbean players ahead of the CPL draft, including signing Denesh Ramdin from the Trinbago Knight Riders.”

Ramdin played with TKR for the last four years, winning two titles.

The other players retained by the franchise are Evin Lewis from TT, Fabian Allen (Jamaica), Sheldon Cottrell (Jamaica), Alzarri Joseph (Leeward Islands) and Dominic Drakes (Barbados), who is the team’s emerging player.

This year, teams can retain as many players from their 2019 squads as they wish. They could also transfer players to other teams and sign emerging players.

The Patriots have also announced that Australian Simon Helmot will be the head coach for the 2020 season. Helmot is a former coach of TKR.

Speaking on his appointment as captain, Emrit said: “I am very excited to be part of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for a second season. I think that the team that is selected this year is going to be a very exciting one. I am very excited to be named as captain. It's always an honour and a privilege to lead a franchise."

The CPL is monitoring the covid19 pandemic to determine if the tournament can still bowl off as scheduled on August 19.