BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have acquired the services of enigmatic all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season.
The 22-year-old Rutherford, who has featured for Guyana Amazon Warriors for the last three seasons, is one of two new faces at the franchise with veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo announcing his arrival last month.
Considered one of the brightest prospects for West Indies in the shortest format, Rutherford played the last of his six T20 Internationals nearly a year-and-a-half ago.
He has also not featured for his native Guyana Jaguars in nearly three years, despite campaigning on the global T20 franchise circuit.
In fact, ahead of this year’s Super50 Cup, the Guyana board said Rutherford had been considered for selection but had instead “opted to play T10 and T20 cricket in Bangladesh and Pakistan”.
Patriots owner Mahesh Ramani said he was excited about the new additions to the squad and the season ahead, especially with St Kitts hosting the entire tournament.
“The St Kitts and Nevis franchise extends a warm welcome to the new players joining us this year as well as to our retained core team for yet an another exciting season of the Hero CPL,” Ramani said.
“This year makes it extra special with us playing at our home – Warner Park.
“I would like to thank all our team players, support staff and management as well as our global fan base for their continued love and support. I look forward to an amazing season in 2021.”
Left-hander Evin Lewis, the franchise’s leading batsman during the last campaign, is one of seven players retained along with all-rounder Rayad Emrit who was the side’s leading wicket-taker last year.
West Indies stars Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen and Joshua Da Silva, along with Jon Russ Jaggesar and Dominic Drakes, complete the list of retained players. Allen, a powerful lower order batsman and left-arm spinner, missed out on last year’s tournament after failing to make his charter flight to Trinidad and Tobago, as the tournament was staged amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
There has been no room found for West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph or any overseas players. The CPL will run from August 28 to September 19.