CPL 2021: Three Amazon Warriors players in team of the tournament

The 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team of the tournament has been announced. The team was selected by the Hero CPL commentary team – Ian Bishop, Danny Morrison, Daren Ganga, Simon Doull and Samuel Badree.

The team features nine Caribbean players and two overseas stars and selection rewards consistent performances across the 2021 tournament. The team heavily features young players from across the Caribbean who have been extremely impressive in this year’s Hero CPL.

Guyana Amazon Warriors trio- skipper Nicholas Pooran and all-rounders Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith- made the team.

Shepherd and Smith finished with 18 wickets each, the joint-second most in the tournament. Shepherd played one of the most destructive innings of the tournament, 72* off 31 balls against Jamaica Tallawahs, while Smith struck 12 sixes and made 126 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 132.

Pooran was Warriors leading runscorer with 263 runs in 10 innings, at a strike rate of 163. He also struck 25 sixes, second only to Evin Lewis’ CPL record hit of 38 maximums in one season.

The team includes Ravi Rampaul, who is the leading wicket-taker for this season, and the World Cup-bound  Lewis, who has been excellent throughout. The two overseas players who make the team are Faf du Plessis and Tim David, both from the Saint Lucia Kings.

The performances of Rampaul and Roston Chase in the tournament has seen them gain selection for the West Indies squad for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Ian Bishop, former West Indies international and Hero CPL commentator said: “The commentary panel, in selecting the team of the tournament would like to commend the teams and players for making the job a very challenging one. A few players stood head and shoulders above the crowd due to their high level of excellence, and their performance simply made their case impossible to ignore. With the remaining selections there was vigorous debate and sometimes splitting hairs due to the high levels of performance and competition for similar roles from experienced, mid-level, and young players.

“The abundance of talent, enthusiasm, and passion shown by so many players in 2021 was laudable and once again made the tournament extremely competitive and compelling viewing. We accept and welcome the view that fans will have varying opinions and debates on their favourite commend all the players for their distinguished efforts throughout the tournament.”

Hero CPL 2021 Team of the Tournament: Evin Lewis (St Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Faf du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings), Nicholas Pooran (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Roston Chase (Saint Lucia Kings), Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders), Tim David (Saint Lucia Kings), Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders), Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Odean Smith (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Akeal Hosein (Trinbago Knight Riders), Ravi Rampaul (Trinbago Knight Riders). (CPL T20)