Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Richards will coach the Antigua Hawksbills during the CPL
West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards believes the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will work wonders for the younger generation as it provides them a unique opportunity to show their worth against some of the top names in international cricket.
Richards also noted that the tournament could be an ample opportunity for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and national selectors to scout for local talents.
“It could also be that sort of a pinnacle that maybe our young professionals, or guys who are aspiring to be young professionals, can now maybe look forward to the cool and smooth T20 tournament; and now with the CPL, this could be the point where maybe the younger professionals would really like to reach,” Richards said. “It is an opportunity for them and it is that sort of a playground for them to assess their careers and where they would like to go and hopefully with the professional stuff which has been in the area itself, it gives them an opportunity to become better professionals and something to strive for.”
The CPL gets underway on July 30 and has six franchise nations, which are the Antigua Hawksbills, Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Lucia Zouks and Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
Each franchise is allowed to have a maximum of four international players representing them at one time, while at least four players under the age of 23 must be on the field at all times as well.
Richards, who will be coaching the Hawksbills, stated that he wanted his team to be made up of players that complement each other both on and off the field.
“We try and look for individuals who we think can be part of a family because if it is that this tournament, the CPL, is going to be a period of about four to five weeks, we look to have individuals who want to represent that brand,” he said. “There are certain processes that we have and everyone is on the list and the sheets that we were sent had everyone who were available and we just didn’t go in that direction, it is simple and plain as that.”