There has been no confirmation on which franchise Ponting will join
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has become the first international player to sign up for the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which is scheduled to get underway on July 29.
According to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the CPL will have six franchises, each of which are based in different countries.
These franchises are located in: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.
As of right now, each franchise has a West Indian superstar allotted to them, and they are: Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, and West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
There has been no decision as of yet about which franchise Ponting will represent, but this will be his fourth domestic Twenty20 team, as he already represents the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Surrey in the England county league.
The CPL will give contracts to 90 players and each franchise will have 15 in their squad.
However, just like the IPL, the CPL has placed quotas regarding the age of players and how many international players can represent a franchise at one time.
According to the rules, each team can have a maximum of four international players on the field at any time and must also have the same number of players under the age of 23 on the pitch as well.
“The West Indies has always been one of my favourite cricket destinations,” Ponting said. “The mix of entertainment and cricket is the perfect recipe for West Indian cricket fans, as well as the rest of the world. The format and concept is fantastic, and I am sure it will be a huge success right from the start.”