Guyana Amazon Warriors contracted Pakistan-born former South African cricket Mohammad Imran Tahir lately for the fifth consecutive season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, which is scheduled to kick start on August 31 and to be played across the West Indies.
The spin bowler is expected to repeat the magic of being the joint-fourth wicket-taker in the previous edition. He played 43 matches and pocketed sixty wickets in CPL 2021.
He is joined in the team by South African wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who played for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for four consecutive CPL seasons from 2015 to 2018 and is one of the top-order bowlers in T20 international games.
The batting side of Guyana Amazon Warriors is being bolstered with the signing of Heinrich Klaasen and Colin Ingram from South Africa as well as Irish cricketer Paul Stirling. Six more spots are yet to be filled. The other contracted players, as of now, are Shimron Hetmyer (retained), Odean Smith (retained), Romario Shepherd (retained), Chandrapaul Hemraj (retained), H Klaasen (signed, overseas), Keemo Paul (signed, local) and Gudakesh Motie (signed, overseas).
Imran Tahir
Imran Tahir is a spin bowler and right-handed batsman from South Arica. He plays all three cricket formats but mostly prefers playing T20 matches. He holds the record of being the first South African bowler to grab seven wickets in a single ODI. He simultaneously is credited with taking 100 ODI wickets in just 58 matches.
The 43-year-old played in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) representing the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He grabbed 26 wickets in the tournament.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Based in Georgetown, the Guyana Amazon Warriors represent Guyana in the Caribbean Premier League. It was founded in 2013 and plays home matches at the Providence Stadium in the country. Its chances of winning CPL in the past were high but failed to grab any. It appeared in five finals and lost all five times. Ranjisinghi Ramroop owns the team while Rayon Griffith is the head coach.
The top five run-scorers in the team are Lendl Simmons (1029 runs in 29 matches), Shimron Hetmyer (985 runs in 37 matches), Martin Guptill (862 runs in 32 matches), Jason Mohammed (777 runs in 35 matches) and Chadwick Walton (625 runs in 24 matches). The top five wicket-takers are Imran Tahir (33 in 49 matches), Sohail Tanvir (35 in 49 matches), Rayad Emrit (39 in 35 matches), Veerasammy Permaul (56 in 37 matches) and Krishmar Santokie (20 in 33 matches).
2022 CPLT20
The CPL is in its 10th edition and is scheduled to be held this year from August 31 to September 30 across the Caribbean. A total of six teams take part in the tournament and these are Guyana Amazon Warriors, Barbados Royals, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Saint Lucia Kings and Trinbago Knight Riders.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots is the defending champion. It won the 9th edition of CPL by three wickets, defeating Saint Lucia Kings. Its Dominic Drakes performed outstandingly by contributing 48 runs (not out) in 24 balls and became Player of the Match. Guyana Amazon Warriors lost against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the semi-final by 7 wickets.
Caribbean Premier League
CPL is an annual cricket event held in the Caribbean and is played in the T20 format. It was founded in 2013 by replacing the Caribbean Twenty20 competition. Hero MotoCorp is currently the title sponsor and Guyana Amazon Warriors lost the final of the inaugural tournament against the Jamaica Tallawahs.
Administrator Cricket West Indies (CWI) has simultaneously come up with the shortest format of cricket called The 6ixty, which is a game of sixty balls or 10 overs with six wickets instead of 10, jointly with the CPL. The inaugural edition is to be played next month in St Kitts & Nevis.
CWI is mainly focusing on spreading cricket across all sectors and the inaugural edition of the 2022 Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) is another way to serve the purpose. The tournament will be held between August 31 and September 4, abreast of the Men’s CPL. Three teams will be participating in the event and these are Guyana Amazon Warriors, Barbados Royals and Trinbago Knight Riders.
