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The 2023 season of the Caribbean Premier League is all set to kick start from August 17, and ahead of the tournament, the top two teams Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Kings have announced their retentions. The four-time CPL champions Knight Riders have retained names like Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Nicholas Pooran. Apart from them, names like Akeal Hosein and Jayden Seales have also been held back to strengthen the bowling lineup.
Apart from these names, the Riders will also have Mark Deyal joining them as he is seeking a shift from St Lucia Kings. Not only this, but the franchise also announced earlier in May that Dwayne Bravo will return to the franchise for CPL 2023.
The head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders, Phil Simmons expressed his delight and said that the retention will help the team to build a strong squad. "We are very happy to be able to retain most of the Caribbean players from last year's TKR squad. The experience of Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Nicholas Pooran coupled with Dwayne Bravo's return gives our squad a very strong core. In youngsters like Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, and Mark Deyal, we have some of the best young talent from Trinidad representing TKR,” as Phil was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
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On the other hand, St Lucia Kings retained Johnson Charles, Alzarri Joseph, Roston Chase, Roshon Primus, Jeavor Royal, Matthew Forde, Mckenny Clarke. Not only this, but they have also retained Khary Pierre who has been transferred from Knight Riders.
Kings will start their campaign against Jamaica Tallawahs in the season opener on August 17. Notably, they were knocked out of the tournament in the Eliminator last year by the same team. On the flip side, Knight Riders, who finished at the bottom of the points table in 2022’s CPL will begin their campaign by clashing against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on August 19.