DANNY'S RAP - CPL DRAFT REVIEW

By DANNY MORRISON

Well now, it's been a heck of a time in T20 cricket globally...let alone the recent CPL T20 Player Draft in Barbados.

And, like many cricket lovers, I'm rapt to see some more big names of international class wanting to be involved with CPL.

There are some truly magnificent superstar T20 names about to appear for the first time in the Caribbean Premier League!
The likes of Brendon McCullum finally gets to make the biggest party in sport.

Also Mr Cricket is on deck too...No fuss with the Huss...Michael Hussey at last...and quality Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson makes it.

I’m looking forward to seeing youngish Adam Zampa with his leggies on West Indies soil this CPL. And other fab Aussie rockers back are Brad Hodge and Chris Lynn....who always pack a punch!

Great to see Bangla’ boy Shakib Al Hasan is back for more steel pans and excitement.

Other Kiwi guys to get on board are Anton Devcich and Colin Munro for the first time...and Marty Guptill always loves a Caribbean party!

The big Pakistani quartet of Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim and Sohail Tanveer will kick into gear as per...those naturally gifted guys are always an interesting prospect in this fabulous format.

And watch out for my fav 'gun-slinger'...Lasith Malinga...with burly Thisara Perera and Sangers - Kumar Sangakkara – who makes up the Sri Lanka trio and is one of a hugely exciting set of six marquee players for the first time this year. Every cricket fan can watch Sangers bat for days and months on end! Quality with a capital ‘Q’.

Canada and the USA have got three drafts each...and as per I'm looking forward to how these dudes go??!...Nikhil Dutta is an exciting prospect, whilst Steven Taylor made some memorable strides in CPL III.

Then there's the Terrific Ten...South Africa have no less than 10 piling into the Caribbean Premier League for 2016.

It’s gonna be one helluva fest this year with run machines Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, David Miller and box office man, AB de Villiers, to Carib shores. Nasty fastie, Morne Morkel, and dynamic all-rounders Wayne Parnell and David Wiese. Spin wizards Robbie Petersen and Tabraiz Shamsi to contend with too!

So, all in all, I can't wait to see these 'rock-stars' in action in the middle of this year at the Caribbean Premier League season 4! And with the move to Florida also on the horizon, this could well be our biggest season yet as cricket lovers across the USA get gripped by CPL – Cricket. Played. Louder.

One of the wonderful pieces of timing wth the advent of the Caribbean Premier League....is the amount of 'star quality' players that are keen and excited to extend their careers, because of this brilliant new revolution within the game of cricket.

Truly passionate cricket fans, across all formats, get to see these dynamic fellows on their shores...in the West Indies on a regular action packed basis! The nature of the T20 franchise system means that the 'local star content' may get to swap about and also move amongst different island teams.

I, for one, hope that this will help bring this unity of togetherness in the West Indies nations to ultimately see the Caribbean thrive across all forms.

Bring it on!