UPDATE: Ahmed returns to TKR for 2020 CPL

In this file photo provided by CPL T20, Fawad Ahmed of Trinbago Knight Riders bowls during a Hero Caribbean Premier League match against St Kitts and Nevis  Patriots, at the Queen’s Park Oval,  St Clair on August 11, 2018. -
In this file photo provided by CPL T20, Fawad Ahmed of Trinbago Knight Riders bowls during a Hero Caribbean Premier League match against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair on August 11, 2018. -

FAWAD AHMED, the Pakistani-born Australian leg-spinner, will return to the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which is expected to take place in TT from August 18 to September 10, subject to approval from Government.

The CPL draft show was held virtually on June 24 and aired on the CPL’s Facebook page on Monday, where the six squads (TKR, defending champs Barbados Tridents, St Kitts/Nevis Patriots, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs and St Lucia Zouks) were revealed.

The 38-year-old Ahmed, who played for the Zouks in the 2019 edition, took a tournament-leading 22 wickets in 2018 for the victorious TKR outfit.

TKR manager Colin Borde said, on Monday, “He is and will be an asset to any team. His vast experience in playing in so many different conditions, and his off-field influence is always welcome in our group.

“We are ecstatic to have his services again,” Borde added.

Ahmed was signed by the TKR for this year’s episode, along with TT and West Indies Under-19 fast bowler Jayden Seales, and New Zealand wicket-keeper Tim Seifert.

Another veteran leg-spinner, 48-year-old Pravin Tambe, will become the first Indian player to feature in the CPL. He was one of three players drafted by the TKR, along with TT pacer Anderson Phillip, who represented TKR in 2018 and 2019, and Pakistani-born Zimbabwean batsman Sikandar Raza.

Commenting on the other new overseas faces on the TKR team (Seifert, Tambe and Raza), Borde said, “Each of the three players bring something different to the team. We always keep a core of players but freshen up with a few new players.

“We have, in Tambe, loads of experience (while) both Seifert and Raza (are) explosive players.”

Eleven players were retained by the TKR – the Bravo brothers Dwayne and Darren, WI T20 captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Amir Jangoo, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, New Zealand’s Colin Munro and Pakistan-born US fast bowler Ali Khan.

Borde said the team is “very balanced...(it is) a team for all conditions that has local knowledge of the conditions that may be presented.”

The TKR manager said the team’s preparations will begin in mid-July “once there is the official go-ahead.”

“The players have already been working on their personal fitness levels for several weeks now and we feel confident that the support staff will bring all the components together to achieve match readiness.”

From the 2019 TKR team, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin will feature for the Patriots, while all-rounder Mark Deyal was drafted by the Zouks. Pakistan’s Mohammad Hasnain, New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham and Sri Lanka’s Seekkuge Prasanna were not chosen by any of the six CPL teams.

Other TT players who will be involved in the 2020 CPL are Rayad Emrit, Joshua Da Silva, Evin Lewis, Jon Russ Jagessar (Patriots) and Nicholas Pooran (Amazon Warriors).

Squads (players’ countries in brackets) –

TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales, Amir Jangoo, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein (WI); Colin Munro, Tim Seifert (New Zealand); Fawad Ahmed (Pakistan); Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe); Pravin Tambe (India), Ali Khan (US).

BARBADOS TRIDENTS: Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Hayden Walsh, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Bishop, Nyeem Young, Justin Greaves (WI); Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan); Marcus Stoinis (Australia); Harry Gurney, Alex Hales (England); Shayan Jahangir (Pakistan).

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS: Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble (WI); Imran Tahir (South Africa); Ross Taylor (New Zealand); Chris Green (Australia); Qais Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq (Afghanistan); Jasdeep Singh (US).

ST KITTS/NEVIS PATRIOTS: Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Dennis Bulli, Alzarri Joseph, Joshua Da Silva, Dominic Drakes, Jon Russ Jagessar, Colin Archibald (WI); Chris Lynn, Ben Dunk (Australia); Sunny Sohal (US); Rassie Van Der Dussen (South Africa); Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan); Ish Sodhi (New Zealand).

JAMAICA TALLAWAHS: Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Oshane Thomas, Fidel Edwards, Preston McSween, Andre McCarthy, Nicholas Kirton, Jeavor Royal, Nkrumah Bonner, Veerasammy Permaul (WI); Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal); Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa); Asif Ali (Pakistan); Glenn Phillips (New Zealand); Ryan Persaud (US).

ST LUCIA ZOUKS: Darren Sammy, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Chemar Holder, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Kimani Melius, Leniko Boucher, Kavem Hodge, Javelle Glen (WI); Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Anrich Nortje (South Africa); Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan); Saad Bin Zafar (Canada).

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