No surprises as Trinbago Knight Riders draft veteran fast bowler Ravi Rampaul

THERE WERE no major surprises in the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) squad for the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as veteran fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, former West Indies Under-19 wicketkeeper Leonardo Julien and Sri Lanka's left-arm fast bowler Isuru Udana were picked by the 2020 champs at Friday's CPL virtual player draft.

The 36-year-old Rampaul was one of the standout bowlers for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force during their victorious campaign at the 2021 Regional Super50 Cup. He will be making a return to the CPL for the first time since 2017, when he was a member of Barbados Tridents.

Julien and Udana are yet to feature in the CPL, while Nepal's leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane joined the TKR team after representing Jamaica Tallawahs in last year's tournament, which was staged in Trinidad due to the covid19 pandemic.

In April, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin rejoined the TKR, with veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo moving the other way, to St Kitts/Nevis Patriots.

Skipper Kieron Pollard, recently-installed vice-captain Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Anderson Phillip, Tion Webster, United States' Ali Khan, New Zealand's Colin Munro and Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza remain from the team who completed a 100 per cent record last year.

This year's competition will take place at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts from August 28 to September 19.

TT's Jason Mohammed will feature for Jamaica Tallawahs, after he was not selected by any of the six franchises last year. He was joined by countryman Joshua James, the lone Tobagonian draft pick.

Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and Pakistan's leg-spinner Usman Qadir, son of the legendary Abdul Qadir, were snapped up by 2020 runners-up St Lucia Zouks, while the Patriots will have South Africa's fast bowler Anrich Nortje and Sri Lanka's leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga in their ranks.

All-rounders Chris Morris (South Africa) and Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka) are now members of the Tridents, with the Guyana Amazon Warriors selecting evergreen Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez.