Six up and coming young cricketers from across the Americas have been given a fantastic opportunity – the chance to make their mark in the 2015 Caribbean Premier League.
USA player Steven Taylor will try out for Barbados Tridents.
The chosen ones – American Steven Taylor, Bermudan Christian Burgess and Canadians Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Farhan Malik, Nikhil Dutta and Nitish Kumar – went through an intensive training camp in Barbados in late 2014 where they proved they were ready to showcase their talent on the big stage.
The Americas’ regional ‘young guns’ have now been allocated to each of the franchises throughout the strong Caribbean T20 league. They will join icons of the sport such as Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen and Shahid Afridi for a week-long camp as they compete for the final place on each team’s rookie list.
Despite their ages, these players are regular selections for their national teams. They have had experience on the international stage and are ready to take their game to the next level as the six players will be competing against four local under-19 cricketers from the West Indies for the remaining contract on each franchise list during the mid-June camps.
Commenting on his allocation to the CPL’s newest team, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Nikhil Dutta, said; “I am really excited to try out for the Patriots and learn from head coach, Eric Simons, and some of the international stars like Shahid Afridi and Marlon Samuels.
“This is a great opportunity for me to learn from the best cricketers and coaches – who have been around the sport for decades – to help me improve my all-round game.”
Steven Taylor is looking to use his try-out with the Barbados Tridents as another opportunity to learn from, and impress, a coach he knows all too well in Robin Singh. As the Tridents are the defending champions, he knows the bar will be set high.
The excited Taylor commented; “I am ready to compete at the highest level and help the Tridents retain the title. I have also worked with Robin while he was the head coach of the USA national team. He is a great coach and competitor and has proven it on every level.”
Preparations for the players continue at home as well as additional training camps facilitated by ICC Americas over the coming months as they get ready to try out.
Story courtesy of cplt20.com