Basseterre: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have traded West Indies wicket-keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin from Trinbago Knight Riders while letting go skipper Carlos Brathwaite and coach Robin Singh for the upcoming season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Ramdin guided Riders to back-to-back title victories in 2017 and 2018. The Patriots have chosen to retain or sign seven Caribbean players ahead of the CPL draft.
The franchise have retained their prominent West Indies players Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen and Alzarri Joseph. Dominic Drakes, the son of Vasbert Drakes, was also retained.
International retentions and signings will be announced at a later date. This year teams can retain as many players from their 2019 squads as they wish.
The 39-year old all-rounder Rayad Emrit will captain the side in this season while Simon Helmot has been recruited as their head coach.
Speaking on his appointment as captain, Emrit said: "I am very excited to be part of St Kitts & 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. Our new coach, Simon Helmot, knows the CPL and he knows how to win titles. He and I are going to work very hard to get the team to the finals."
Apart from releasing Ramdin, Knight Riders retained the core of their side. Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, spinners Sunil Narine, Khary Pierre and Akeal Hosein will continue to represent the side. Narine, however, hasn't played a single competitive game after sustaining a finger injury in CPL 2019.
As of now, the CPL 2020 is scheduled to take place between August 19 to September 26 but the organisers are currently watching the current situation with COVID-19 closely and are liaising with medical advisors and governments.
"A decision on whether the tournament can proceed as planned, or at a different time, will be made as soon as possible," the organisers said.
