The 2016 HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft was held in Barbados on Thursday, with the six franchises flexed their financial muscles to rope in their desired cricketers.
David Miller and Lendl Simmons were the costliest buys in the CPL 2016 players' draft. Each of them bagged 160,000 dollars contracts from St. Lucia Zouks and St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
Talking on the CPL Player Draft, CEO Damien O'Donohoe said, "There is a strong selection of outstanding international talent, supplemented by the introduction of 'marquee' players for each franchise which allies to our biggest roster of local Caribbean players to date, and that remains a cornerstone of the CPL's strategy to develop West Indies cricket."
O'Donohoe said they are aiming to work harder this year to build on the strong platform and engage their growing international audience.
South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis will line up for the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots alongside West Indies duo Samuel Badree and batsman Lendl Simmons, Australian international Brad Hodge, retained players Evin Lewis and Tabraiz Shamsi as well as Canada's Nikhil Dutta (ICC Americas) for the coming season.
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Swashbuckling South Africa batsman AB de Villiers was roped by Barbados Tridents and he will join fellow teammate Robin Petersen and David Wiese alongside Kieron Pollard, Pakistan's Shoaib Malik, Ravi Rampaul and Steven Taylor (ICC Americas) who were also retained by the franchise.
Australia's two-time ICC Cricket World Cup winner Shane Watson will join his former international team-mate Michael Hussey as well as West Indies World T20 captain Darren Sammy at the Zouks. They will team up alongside the likes of Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher as well as South African paceman Morne Morkel.
Meanwhile, former ICC Cricketer of the Year Kumar Sangakkara will return to the Jamaica Tallawahs after helping them seal the inaugural trophy in 2013. He will join the electrifying Chris Gayle, Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and local favourites Andre Russell and Chadwick Walton.
The recently re-named Trinbago Knight Riders will welcome back the number one ICC WT20 international bowler Sunil Narine, who will be joined by former South Africa skipper Hashim Amla and Dwayne Bravo, Kevon Cooper as well as former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum. Left arm spinner Sulieman Benn and Pakistan wicket-keeper Umar Akmal will also join the Trinidad and Tobago based franchise.
The duo of Christopher Barnwell and Versammy Permaul were picked by Guyana Amazon Warriors. They will be joined by the hugely talented Martin Guptill , Dwayne Smith and Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir, who has moved from the Patriots.
