By Timothy Jaikarran
The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) fixtures for the 2019 season have been announced with the best cricketing talents from across the Caribbean and from around the world set to be part of the Biggest Party in Sport.
The 34-match season starts later this year, with the opening match happening on September 4 and the final on October 12.
The first match will see last year’s winners, Trinbago Knight Riders, take on St Kitts & Nevis Patriots while the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) will get underway against St Lucia Stars.
The GAW have selected a well-balanced side ranging from some of the top international players to the best players in the Caribbean.
One such feature that is expected to highlight this year’s CPL is Guyanese, Chandrapaul Hemraj, who had a stint for St Lucia Stars last season.
Hemraj played two matches for the Stars in 2018 and had a high score of 37 and a strike rate of 142.30 from his only inning. He also highlighted 2019 with a brilliant 144 against the Barbados Pride in the recently concluded Regional Four Day Tournament and made a top score of 32 against India in 2018.
In an exclusive interview with INews when asked what does he bring to the table in terms of joining the GAW, Hemraj said, “It’s a great feeling to be a part of the Warriors this year, I didn’t play much T20 cricket recently but I enjoy playing the format because I’m naturally aggressive. I bring that aggressiveness at the top of the order, I would look to give the team a good start and capitalize on the power play. I also want to help the team win the most games as possible and bring home the trophy this year.”
Hemraj also stated that the Warriors are a balance team that consists of youth and a lot of experience as well.
He went on to say that he is familiar with most of the players on the team, which makes adapting quite easy.
The young aggressive left hander also noted that the performance he gave in 2018 is not going to be the same in 2019, but one of a higher standard. Hemraj related to this publication that his fitness has improved a lot from the last time he played and that it is going to get better leading up to the tournament.
The squad for the GAW reads: Shadab Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Shimron Hetmyer, Ben Lauglin, Chris Green, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Keagan Simmons, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Veerasammy, Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Clinton Pestano, and Saurab Netravalkar.
