CPL 2020: SWOT Analysis, Predicted XIs, Key Players

The world is back to its normalcy in full tilt and is gearing up to witness the biggest party in world cricket, Caribbean Premier League 2020. The Caribbean flavour of cricket is waiting to present a treat to all the cricket lovers around the world. Let’s take a crisp look at all the CPL T20 teams in the article.

Trinbago Knight Riders Squad: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Tim Seifert, Sikandar Raza, Anderson Phillip, Pravin Tambe, Jayden Seales, Amir Jangoo, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Muhammad Ali Khan.

One of the consistent teams in CPL cricket is TKR. They came into the tournament as the defending champions last year and managed to make the top 4 but just with 4 wins and never looked in full flow. They crashed out in the qualifier 2 against Barbados Tridents by 12 runs.

Strength: They have got their experienced campaigner and the T20 veteran in Dwayne Bravo this time around which will be a huge boost as far as their death bowling is concerned. They have retained their solid core intact and each one of them are T20 superstars in their own way. They have a strong spin attack in Sunil Narine and Fawad Ahmed.

Weakness: Lack of quality death bowlers. They have Dwayne Bravo who has past his prime. The fast bowling as a whole looks a little thin as it boasts of youngsters. There will be a lot on their plate to step up big time.

Opportunities: The tall 18-year-old right-arm fast bowler Jayden Seales is already touted to be a big thing by Ian Bishop. He will be the one to watch out for this season.

Threats: The opposition teams can play out TKR’s competent spinners and will be looking to cash-in on the inexperienced death bowling attack which might be a big concern for TKR as far as this season is concerned.

Trinbago Knight Riders XI (probable):
1. Lendl Simmons
2. Sunil Narine
3. Tim Siefert (WK)
4. Colin Munro
5. Sikander Raza
6. Kieron Pollard
7. Dwayne Bravo
8. Fawad Ahmed
9. Ali Khan
10. Jayden Seales
11. Khary Pierre

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Squad: Chris Lynn, Ben Dunk, Evin Lewis, Nick Kelly, Sohail Tanvir, Ish Sodhi, Sheldon Cottrell, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Imran Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Joshua Da Silva, Dominic Drakes, Colin Archibald, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Jahmar Hamilton.

Although having faced one of the biggest setbacks of all teams by missing their star attraction in Fabian Allen, SNP boasts a solid first XI and have a very balanced team as well. They reached the playoffs in the last 2 season and will be looking to go all the way through this time around.

Strength: SNP have one of the most experienced fast bowling attacks in the competition. They have Alzarri Joseph, Sohail Tanvir, Sheldon Cottrell and their captain Rayad Emrit forming an unassailable bowling attack. They have Evin Lewis and Chris Lynn as their openers which is again a fearsome opening pair.

Weakness: With all of the matches scheduled to take place in 2 stadiums in Queen’s park, oval and Brian Lara cricket academy in Tarouba, there is no doubt that spin will play a huge part in these grounds as the wickets are expected to help spin bowlers big time. SNP doesn’t have a good depth of spin bowling contingent which might backfire big time.

Opportunities: They have one of the up and coming right-hand batsman in Joshua da Silva who has shown great signs off-late. He will look to grab this opportunity to perform on the big stage so that he might get into the good books of selectors.

Threats: SNP genuinely lacks a solid wicket-taker in middle overs. They have the Kiwi leg-spinner, Ish Sodhi, as their lead spinner who isn’t known for his wicket-taking prowess. The opposition batters might just cash-in on this aspect. They lack a solid finisher as the loss of Fabian Allen will have a telling effect for sure.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots XI (probable):

1. Evin Lewis
2. Chris Lynn
3. Joshua Da Silva (wk)
4. Ben Dunk
5. Denesh Ramdin
6. Dominic Drakes
7. Rayad Emrit
8. Sohail Tanvir
9. Ish Sodhi
10. Alzarri Joseph
11. Sheldon Cottrell

Jamaica Tallawahs Squad: Andre Russell, Sandeep Lamichhane, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Glenn Phillips, Chadwick Walton, Oshane Thomas, Asif Ali, Fidel Edwards, Preston McSween, Jermaine Blackwood, Nicholas Kirton, Ramaal Lewis, Nkrumah Bonnar, Veerasammy Permaul, Ryan Persaud.

Jamaica endured a poor season last time around where they finished at the bottom of the table. They will be surely looking to turn the tables this time as they have an impressive squad with massive hitters of the cricket ball in the lower middle order.

Strength: Their lower middle order is one of the deadliest combinations in the tournament. The likes of Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Asif Ali and Carlos Brathwaite are all capable of taking the game away from the opposition single-handedly.

Weakness: The top 3 doesn’t inspire much confidence as they have Glenn Philips, Chadwick Walton and either of Jermaine Blackwood, Nicholas Kriton and Nkrumah Bonner who are all inconsistent in their own way. Their death bowling is another area which looks thin. The likes of Fidel Edwards and Oshane Thomas are effective new ball bowlers but their credentials in death is up for debate.

Opportunities: The captain of the team Rovman Powell has been in and around the national team but is yet to hold on to a permanent position. He has gallops of potential and will be looking to make the most of this season to justify his potential.

Threats: They have a fragile top order and the likes of Andre Russell will have to be at his best throughout the tournament. It is a known fact that he is prone to injuries and any such instance might be a devastating event for Jamaica.

Jamaica Tallawahs XI (probable):
1. Glenn Philips (wk)
2. Chadwick Walton
3. Jermaine Blackwood
4. Rovman Powell
5. Andre Russell
6. Asif Ali
7. Carlos Brathwaite
8. Mujeeb UR Rahman
9. Fidel Edwards
10. Sandeep Lamicchane
11. Oshane Thomas

Barbados Tridents Squad: Rashid Khan, Jason holder, Corey Anderson, Shamarh Brooks, Mitchell Santner, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Hayden Walsh Jr, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Bishop, Nyeem Young, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Shayan Jahangir.

The proud defending champions who defied all odds and took the trophy by defeating mighty Guyana in the finals last year. They will be missing the services of key players for this edition who all played major roles in their title triumph last time around.

Strength: The best spin attack by a mile. They have the bowling attack to defend any total on their day. The spin quartet of Ashely Nurse, Rashid Khan, Hayden Walsh and Mitchel Santner will pose an unavoidable challenge to the batting lineups.

Weakness: There is no doubt that they will miss the services Alex Hales, Shakib-al-Hasan, and JP Duminy this time around in their batting department who were a constant in their playing XI last time around. They don’t have any big stars in their batting line up and all the onus will be on Johnson Charles once again. He was the leading run-scorer for them last time as well.

Opportunities: Nyeem Young is one of the exciting prospects who caught the attention of everyone in the recently concluded U19 world cup. He has a great range of shots and will be looking to utilize this golden opportunity.

Here’s Nyeem Young. A destructive allrounder from Barbados ??

Watch Young’s breakout innings in the U-19 WC 2020, where he took England to the cleaners

Young is Tridents’ emerging player for the upcoming CPL and will be attempting to announce himself

Please RT, share for reach pic.twitter.com/7vN9cbXWgk

— Cricket Talent Scout (@scout_cricket) August 9, 2020

Keon Harding is another exciting fast bowler to watch out from Barbados Tridents. He will be hoping to showcase his potential with backing from the management

This is a clip of Barbados ?? fast bowler Keon Harding. He is known for generating rapid pace and is a versatile bowler.

Harding will be looking to impress for the Tridents this CPL. He took 18 wickets (2nd most) in the Super50 for Emerging Team.

https://t.co/GvTQh9o4ZQ

— Cricket Talent Scout (@scout_cricket) August 10, 2020

Threats: Their batting line-up is weak to some extent as they lack firepower which Alex Hales provided at the top of the order in the previous season. They also don’t have a fearsome finisher as Ashley Nurse, Rashid Khan and Jonathan Carter have to do the bulk of the finishing job. Their captain Jason Holder is still not an explosive T20 all-rounder that he wishes to be and he will be looking to perform well this season.

Barbados Tridents XI (probable):
1. Johnson Charles
2. Shai Hope
3. Nyeem Young
4. Corey Anderson
5. Jonathan Carter
6. Jason Holder
7. Rashid Khan
8. Ashley Nurse
9. Mitchell Santner
10. Hayden Walsh Jr
11. Raymon Reifer

St Lucia Zouks Squad: Daren Sammy, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Rakheem Cornwall, Kavem Hodge, Kimani Melius, Mohammad Nabi, Chemar Holder, Mark Deyal, Levicko Boucher, Javelle Glen, Saad Bin Zafar, Scott Kuggleijn, Najibullah Zadran, Jonathan Wells, Zahir Khan

The team is lead by 2-time world cup winning captain in Daren Sammy. One of the best T20 captains going around in the world. They lost the chance to qualify for playoffs by a small margin as they won a game less than TKR who were the 4th placed team with 4 wins in the 2019 edition of CPL.

Strength: The lower middle order is in the hands of experienced guys as the explosive southpaw Najibullah Zadran will look after the finishing duties along with Mohammad Nabi and Daren Sammy. They have absolute destruction at the top of the order as Andre Fletcher and Rakheem Cornwall can destroy any bowling attack with disdain.

Weakness: The lack of quality middle-order players will be a major concern. After their openers, their middle-order sports a thin look with the likes of Jonathan Wells and Kavem Hodge. The onus will be on Jonathan Wells to arrest the collapse if any.

Opportunities: The 22-year-old right-arm fast bowler Chemar Holder will be the one to watch out for in this season. He has been a prolific performer in the domestic circuit and he was even selected in the squad for the recently concluded England series.

Threats: Zouks will largely rely on Zahir Khan to be the major wicket-taker for them in the middle overs. Zahir Khan is a chinaman bowler from Afghanistan. Though he is an exciting prospect, the lack of an experienced spinner might take a toll on them.

St Lucia Zouks Playing XI (probable):
1. Rahkeem Cornwall
2. Andre Fletcher (wk)
3. Jonathan Wells
4. Kavem Hodge
5. Najibullah Zadran
6. Mohammad Nabi
7. Darren Sammy (c)
8. Chemar Holder
9. Kesrick Williams
10. Obed McCoy
11. Zahir Khan

Guyana Amazon Warriors Squad: Imran Tahir, Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, Ross Taylor, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Green, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Naveen-ul-Haq, Chandrapul Hemraj, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmeade Nedd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble, Jasdeep Singh, Kissoondath Magram.

The unluckiest team in CPL history. After having reached the finals of the tournament for 4 seasons, they were just behind the finishing line on all the 4 occasions. They were unbeaten in the tournament for 11 consecutive matches last time around and lost in the finals which was a major heartbreak.

Strength: They have an all-round batting line up which no team in the CPL can match to. They have impressive openers, rock-solid middle-order batsmen and top tier finishers which makes them the best batting unit of this competition.

Weakness: There is no such glaring weakness that one can pinpoint with this all-round team. If anything, they lack depth in their bench and the lack of alternatives for Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul don’t inspire much confidence. Shimron Hetmyer has all the potential in the world but hasn’t converted them into a performance as far as T20s are concerned.

Opportunities: Brendon King ended up as the leading run-scorer in the previous edition and will be looking to continue his form to take his game to a different level. With the upcoming WT20 slated to happen in India, he will be hoping to hold onto a permanent spot in the national squad with another impressive season. Also, keep an eye on the impressive 20 years old Naveen-ul-Haq.

Threats: The only threat to Guyana is no one but themselves. They have this weird habit of losing in the finals. They can’t miss another such golden opportunity this time around. With the kind of squad they have, this season can well end their trophy drought if they hold their nerves in pressure situations.

Guyana Amazon Warriors XI (probable):
1. Brandon King
2. Chanderpaul Hemraj
3. Shimron Hetmyer
4. Nicholas Pooran
5. Ross Taylor
6. Sherfane Rutherford
7. Keemo Paul
8. Chris Green,
9. Romario Shepherd
10. Imran Tahir
11. Naveen-ul-Haq