The lure of “unfinished business” is motivating Brandon King, who has been retained by the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The Jamaican right-hander was the Warriors standout batsman in 2019, topping the tournament’s run-chart with 496 runs at an average of 55.
His outstanding batting, the crowning moment of which was an electrifying, career-best 132, led Warriors to an 11-match unbeaten streak, before they lost the all-important game against eventual champions Barbados Tridents.
It was the Warriors fifth defeat in a final in the seven-year history of the CPL.
“I’m excited to be back with Guyana. This was always my intention after how last season went for me as a player and for the team as well,” King told the Jamaica Observer.
“It was obviously disappointing not to go all the way, given the historic season we had leading up to the final.”
“I do have a slight feeling of unfinished business leading up to this year’s competition, so I’m very motivated to try and win the title, and I think my teammates share that feeling. The Guyana fans definitely deserve it,” he added.
Reflecting on the last season, King, who wore the number 53 on his back, the same number his idol Ramnaresh Sarwan donned in white-ball cricket, said he enjoyed the experience with the Amazon Warriors.
“It was a very professional set-up that helped me to progress as a player,” King noted. “I think everybody last year realised that most of our squad was relatively young. I definitely think that’s something that has been good for us.”
“I’m happy to see that they’ve retained a lot of the guys because there’s a level of fearlessness and hunger that I think we all share and we bring that out onto the field.
“There’s energy and it’s easier when you have a group of guys that are around the same age. We can relate to each other, so the chemistry is also there on and off the field and I think that’s really crucial for us,” King told the Observer.
The following are the Local and Regional players retained and signed by the Amazon Warriors for CPL 2020:
The CPL is scheduled to take place between August 19 and September 26, but the tournament 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.
