Image Credit- AFP
Prior to the player draft, the St Lucia Kings have signed Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad and South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen as wristspinners for the 2024 Caribbean Premier League.
Retained is Faf du Plessis, whose injury-shortened tenure with the Kings last year. Bhanuka Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and David Wiese, an all-rounder from Namibia, are two more overseas retainees.
The Kings will have five positions up for grabs in the July draft, with 12 players confirmed for the upcoming year. The core group of Caribbean players, which consists of Matthew Forde, Khary Pierre, Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, and Johnson Charles, has been retained. McKenny Clarke and Shadrack Descarte, two fast bowlers, complete their retentions. Having been appointed as du Plessis’s replacement the previous year, Colin Munro, Chris Sole, Sean Williams, and Sikandar Raza have all been discharged.
Since 2023, Klaasen has been playing T20 cricket in incredible form. Earlier this year, he finished as the second-highest run scorer in the SA20, and with 479 runs in 16 games in the IPL, he was also quite impressive. He has a 176.80 strike rate in the format since 2023. Klaasen, who made 118 runs in five games when playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2022, will be making his second appearance in the CPL.
In 2023, Kings qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in a row, however they were defeated by the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Eliminator.
The dates of the 2024 CPL are scheduled for August 30 to October 7. On September 1st in Basseterre, Kings will begin their season against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots.