Published 24 March 2017
By: Jermine Abel, SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots has put the final stamp of approval on its lineup for the 2017 Caribbean Premier League season, at the tournament draft.
Held in Bridgetown, Barbados yesterday (Mar. 10), the Patriots picked up several key players including Ben Cutting.
Those selections go along with the retained big names that were previously announced, in the likes of Chris Gayle ($160,000), Chris Morris ($130,000), Evin Lewis ($70,000), Samuel Badree ($60,000) and Tabriaz Shamsi ($30,000).
Starting their bidding in the third round, the Patriots snatched up Cutting, an Australian right-arm fast bowling all-rounder, for the price of $110,000, followed by Pakistani Mohammed Nabi for $90,000.
Unlike other teams, the Patriots were provided with a limited number of picks during this year’s draft after they retained a number of players from previous seasons. And they also made purchases earlier in the offseason.
In round one, they grabbed little-know Jamaican batsman, Brandon King for $15,000.
Kieron Powell, the informed Leeward Islands Batsman, did not go for a high price during this year’s window, as he was retained by the Patriots for $7,500, while Fabian Allen was drafted in round 13 for $5,000.
The Patriots picked up the local favorite, Jeremiah Louis in the Round 15 with a price tag of US$4,000.
The 2017 season of the Caribbean Premier League is expected to bowl off in August, and the local franchise would be looking to do better than in previous seasons.
Though no confirmation has been given, it has been noted that the finals of the 2017 season would be held in Singapore.
Currently, organizers of the tournament are having talks with the Singaporeans on the possibility of playing the semifinals and finals in that country.
Governments in the region have complained over the years about the cost attached to hosting the finals of the tournament, in their respective countries. St. Kitts and Nevis played host to the finals last year with the Jamaica Tallawahs brushing aside the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The list of players are: Chris Gayle, Chris Morris, Ben Cutting, Mohammed Nabi, Evin Lewis, Samuel Badree, Johnathan Carter, Tabriaz Shamsi, Brandon King, Devon Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Kieran Powell, Fabian Allen, Shamar Brooks and Nikhil Dutta.
