(CPL) Caribbean Premier League organisers have announced that Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be unable to play in the inaugural tournament for the St Lucia franchise due to contractual obligations that he has with English county team Derbyshire, opening the door for Aussie batsman Luke Pomersbach to join the St Lucia Zouks.
Chanderpaul signed a contract with CPL, offering himself up for selection but later realised that his commitment to Derbyshire provided for release only if it pertained to West Indies duty. He subsequently had to withdraw from the tournament.
“I am extremely sorry that I will not be able to participate in the CPL because of contractual obligations,” said Chanderpaul. “I would definitely like to make myself available for the next edition, and will have my contracts carry a clause that will permit me to play in future editions of T20 tournaments.”
“It is unfortunate that Chanderpaul is unable to be a part of the St Lucia Zouks,” commented St Lucia’s Head Coach Andy Roberts. “His experience would have added some stability to the team, and of course he is loved and respected by fans around the world. We wish him all the best this season with Derbyshire and hope to see him in the draft again next year. We are pleased with Pomersbach as a replacement option. He is a competent middle order batsman, and we believe that he will serve our team well.”
Pomersbach was in the group of Elite Pool A players alongside Chanderpaul, and the only batsman remaining in that pool.
“I am excited about this new opportunity and really looking forward to playing in the Caribbean for St. Lucia,” Pomersbach commented. “It will be great to be a part of this first CPL and I am looking forward to some tough competitive cricket with some of the greatest T20 cricketers in the world.”
Pomersbach’s selection is in line with the rules of the draft and does not put the St Lucia team at any disadvantage.
The St Lucia Zouks is led by franchise players Darren Sammy and Herschelle Gibbs. The other team members are Albie Morkel, Tino Best, Tamim Iqbal, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Andre Fletcher, Garey Mathurin, Liam Sebastian, Dalton Polius, Kavem Hodge, Kenroy Peters and Nelon Pascal.
The CPL begins on Tuesday, 30 July in Barbados and concludes on Saturday, 24 August in Trinidad. All matches will take place at 8pm and all doubleheaders will begin at 3pm and 8pm with the exception of Jamaica whose matches will take place at 10am and 2pm. Log on to www.cplt20.com/fixtures for the full CPL schedule.