For the last few years, the Caribbean Premier League has thrown up some unknown talents, who have gone on to make a mark for themselves either at the international stage or in various domestic T20 leagues across the globe. This season, a number of international stars are absent due to the coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc.
Nonetheless, there are still enough talents who will be eager to grasp onto their chances and leave a mark. Here are three such talents who can turn any game on their heads, and, thus, become interesting choices in the fantasy team.
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Brandon King (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Though not a very popular name across the cricketing realm, Brandon King has been a revelation in the previous editions of the CPL. The Jamaica-born batsman ended with a strike rate of 135.24 in seven games in the 2018 edition of the tournament and bettered his performance last year, scoring 496 runs in 12 games at an average of 55.11 and a strike rate of nearing 149.
The opener, through his aggressive batting, often lays the foundation for the rest of the batting unit. Last season, he scored three successive fifties against the Jamaica Tallawahs, Barbados Tridents and St Lucia Zouks respectively before scoring an unbeaten 132 against the Tridents off just 72 balls at a strike rate of 183.33.
The fact that he bats at the top of the order allows King the full quota of 20 overs to make a mark, which is why he remains a fantasy favourite.
Rahkeem Cornwall (St Lucia Zouks)
The West Indian is a dangerous power hitter, especially in the powerplay overs. The 6 ft 5 inch tall cricketer gets good leverage of the arms, which allows him to hit the ball a long way in any situation. In the last season of the CPL, Cornwall struck at a whopping rate of 190.98, scoring 254 runs in 10 innings and tore apart the bowling attacks in the first six overs consistently.
This year, the Zouks will be badly affected with the absence of their two star South African batters – Rilee Rossouw and Colin Ingram – who could not travel to West Indies due to the scarcity of flights because of the pandemic. As a result, the pressure on Cornwall with the bat will increase manifold.
The 27-year old is also more than a decent spinner, with his off-break bowling in the domestic circuit helping him earn a debut for his country in the Tests. His all-round skills and his batting talent makes Cornwall a potential dark horse.
Mark Deyal (St Lucia Zouks)
Having a mystery spinner in any T20 team is every franchise owner’s dream. St Lucia Zouks have the luxury of Mark Deyal in their ranks – a cricketer who will not only be looking to bamboozle the opponents with his googlies on the dry tracks of Trinidad, but who can also contribute with the bat when needed.
Deyal has earlier played for the CPL team Trinbago Knight Riders as a middle-order batsman, but soon added mystery spin to his skill-set. Blessed with the ability to turn the ball both ways with the knuckles, the 27-year can be quite a handful in the middle overs. The cricketer had also opened the batting attack as a pinch-hitter for the Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Canada League, and will be looking to impress yet again.
