Some of the legends of West Indies cricket have returned to lead franchises in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
During a Press conference which was streamed live from Trinidad yesterday, Gordon Greenidge, Andy Roberts, Roger Harper, Desmond Haynes and Sir Vivian Richards were named as head coaches.
The other head coach is former England wicketkeeper/batsman, Paul Nixon.
Greenidge will lead the Trinidad and Tobago franchise and St Lucia will be headed by Roberts, while Harper, Haynes and Richards have been assigned to their native countries in Guyana, Barbados and Antigua, respectively, and Nixon to Jamaica.
CPL operations manager Carlisle Powell also revealed the respective countries which the 12 franchise players would be representing.
Barbados will be led by Kieron Pollard and Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik, who has replaced Australian Adam Gilchrist after he was forced out by an ankle injury.
Newly appointed West Indies One-Day International captain Dwayne Bravo will partner with Ross Taylor, of New Zealand, to lead Trinidad; Jamaica will have the services of Chris Gayle and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan; Sunil Narine and Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez will suit up for Guyana; Antigua will rely on Marlon Samuels and Ricky Ponting of Australia and Darren Sammy and South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs will anchor St Lucia.
Speaking on behalf of the coaches, Haynes said he was glad to see some of the region’s greats were given the opportunity to have an impact at the CPL.
“I’m happy to see that the CPL has embraced some of the greats and have given them the opportunity to be involved in coaching the franchises,” he added.
“I think this is an initiative that has been a long time in coming.”
Haynes lauded the CPL for also including coaches from abroad, calling it a ”very good idea”.
Powell said that in pairing both the coaches and the franchise players with their teams, much thought had gone into the process in an effort to find the best possible partnerships.
“We wanted to make sure that we paired the players who were best suited to each other.
“We also thought it would be a good idea to bring some of the region’s best players who have played the game, who were qualified and who bring an area of expertise and experience to the table to coach the franchises,” Powell added.
