BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados Tridents head coach Desmond Haynes believes his side can overcome the loss of their three key players and excel in the Champions League Twenty20.
The Bridgetown-based franchise will participate the global T20 tournament which bowls off next week in India but will have to do without the services of captain Kieron Pollard, opener Dwayne Smith and top-order batsman Shoaib Malik who will all contest the CLT20 for other franchises.
Haynes, the West Indies batting legend of the 1980s and 1990s, said the side had been preparing for some while for this eventuality.
“We’re disappointed but at the beginning of the CPL tournament, we knew that we were going to lose these players anyway because when you consider and compare the contracts — a Barbados Tridents contract to a Mumbai Indians contract — there is no way you would get a Pollard playing for the Tridents if the Mumbai Indians qualify,” Haynes said.
“We knew that we were going to miss these guys but as I said the guys that we have got in our side realise that this is a very big stage. This is a stage where there are a lot of opportunities and we feel that with the guys’ enthusiasm and the purpose of this all – it’s US$2.5 million if you win the tournament – I don’t think you need any more motivation than that.”
Tridents beat Guyana Amazon Warriors in a rain-hit final last month, to win the Limacol Caribbean Premier League and qualify for the CLT20.
For the competition, they have been installed in Group B alongside Kings XI Punjab of India, Cape Cobras of South Africa and Hobart Hurricanes out of Australia. They group will be completed by a yet-to-determined side coming out of the qualifiers starting next week.
Haynes said the Tridents understood the nature of the challenge but were very motivated, and had been also reflecting on the success of Trinidad teams that had done very well in the CLT20 in the past.
“The guys understand that this is a very serious competition where they have an opportunity perform on a very big stage. And you never know, some of the guys if they do well in this tournament can go on to get a contract in IPL so the guys understand the benefits they can get from it. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, the guys I have been working with look very keen,” said Haynes.
“I know a lot of people in Barbados are going to be supporting us. They know that the Trinidad team that went there before and had the opportunity to play in the Champions League, gave a very good account of themselves down there and it is something we are looking at too.
“The last team that played in the Champions League from the Caribbean was Trinidad and they did very well so we’ll see if we can match that or go one step further.”
All-rounder Rayad Emrit has replaced Pollard as captain, a move Haynes said was an excellent one.
“Rayad has a lot of experience captaining Trinidad for the last couple of years and even though yes, Polly (Pollard) has done a fantastic job for us in the CPL competition, we’re sure that Rayad will be able to handle the side very well.”
Barbados Tridents depart here Sunday for India via London.