Omar Khan: Russell, Pooran make TKR a formidable team

FORMER Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies team manager Omar Khan is of the view that the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will have a formidable squad for the 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The six franchises involved in the CPL confirmed their pre-draft retentions and signings of local players on Monday.

Nicholas Pooran re-joined the franchise he played for in 2013 and 2014 (when it was Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel). He represented the Barbados Tridents (now Barbados Royals) from 2016 to 2018 and the Guyana Amazon Warriors from 2019-2021 – he served as the team’s skipper in 2021.

Veteran all-rounder Andre Russell also joined the TKR team from the Jamaica Tallawahs, which he represented since the CPL’s inception in 2013.

Captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine (who was his deputy in the 2021 edition), Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales and Tion Webster are the TKR players retained from their 2021 squad.

Khan, in a telephone interview on Monday, said, “It’s interesting to see the TKR have selected both Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran which makes them a formidable team.

“The composition of the team seems to be very formidable, with Pooran, Russell, Pollard and Narine,” he continued. “On paper, they seem to (be) the team to beat.”

Darren Bravo, who has been with the TKR franchise since 2013, made the move to St Kitts/Nevis Patriots where he joined his elder brother Dwayne, who made a similar switch in 2021; Dwayne led the Patriots to their maiden CPL title last September.

“All the other teams seem to be fairly evenly matched,” said Khan. “St Kitts (and Nevis), I've seen they have selected Andre Fletcher. He's a good pick, with Darren Bravo joining them.

“It's interesting because what has happened is that this year, the three-year cycle has come to an end for the CPL franchises, so there would be new players joining different franchises, just like the IPL. It augurs well for cricket in the Caribbean, and the development of West Indies cricket.”

Jamaica Tallawahs have only retained and signed five players in total/ Captain Rovman Powell, Kennar Lewis and Shamarh Brooks have been retained, while Fabian Allen and Brandon King moved from the Patriots and Amazon Warriors respectively.

Asked if the Tallawahs would they be looking to freshen up things, Khan replied, “They have that option. The option was you can retain more players plus your Under-23 (player), and then you can select two other players from another window, outside of your team from last year.

“Probably they feel in the draft, when they go, they’ll be able to get better players or the combination that they are looking for, in terms of their team balance.”

The 2022 CPL will take place from August 30 to September 30, when the final takes place at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Pre-draft retentions and signings -

Trinbago Knight Riders: Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Tion Webster.

St Lucia Kings: Roston Chase, Johnson Charles, Kesrick Williams, Alzarri Joseph, Mark Deyal, Jeavor Royal.

Jamaica Tallawahs: Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Brandon King, Kennar Lewis, Shamarh Brooks.

St Kitts/Nevis Patriots: Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes.

Barbados Royals: Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr, Devon Thomas, Oshane Thomas, Nyeem Young.

Guyana Amazon Warriors: Shimron Hetmyer, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Keemo Paul, Gudakesh Motie.