VETERAN PACER Ravi Rampaul makes an anticipated return to this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament as he was drafted by defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) on Friday.
The 36-year-old, alongside former West Indies Under-19 wicketkeeper Leonardo Julien and Sri Lanka’s left-arm fast bowler Isuru Udana were the final three additions to the championship team at Friday’s CPL virtual player draft.
Rampaul’s selection comes on the heels of a dominant display at the 2021 Regional Super50 Cup with eventual winners Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. This, however, would be his first stint with TKR.
From 2014 to 2017, Rampaul represented the Barbados Tridents and was part of the team which lifted the trophy in his first year there. In 2015, the Bajan franchise also finished as runners-up.
After a four-year hiatus from the CPL, the right-arm fast bowler is ready for his long awaited return to the CPL circuit.
“I’m elated to get picked up by TKR. It’s a good feeling to come back and play cricket in the Caribbean after being away for so long. I’m really happy and excited about the tournament this year. First time I would be playing for TKR so I’m glad to be at home,” he said.
For the past five years, Rampaul has plied his trade mainly in English county cricket. Since his introduction to English domestic cricket in 2015, he represented Surrey in his first two years. The former WI pacer then shifted allegiance to Derbyshire for the next three years.
He expressed pleasure that TKR was able to retain the majority of their title-winning team and anticipates a highly competitive tournament. TKR, however, will be without veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who will represent St Kitts/Nevis Patriots this year.
In return, the Patriots traded wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin to the defending champions.
“You would expect that players shift around. The key point for me in the draft is that TKR retained the majority of their players. That’s a positive sign that they were able to maintain the main players.
“Everyone already knows each other so when we meet as a team, we would go directly into cricket and into playing and performing,” he said.
Rampaul holds in high regard the leadership traits of TKR skipper Kieron Pollard. When Tridents won the CPL in 2014, Pollard was the captain of the Bajan franchise while Rampaul was a player there.
Similarly, Pollard also captained Rampaul and the TT Red Force team to Super50 victory earlier this year. The burly pacer expressed pleasure to reunite with Pollard under the TKR banner and believes the skipper has the drive to lead the team to another flawless CPL victory.
“The three years I played with Barbados Tridents, Pollard was the captain there. This year, for the Super50, he was also my captain. He’s a good leader and he motivates you a lot.
“I’m really happy that he is captain and he encourages you to want to perform for the team. Whatever I can do to help the team
