The Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2024) continues with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (SKN) taking on Guyana Amazon Warriors (GUY). Both sides will lock horns at the Warner Park, Basseterre, in St Kitts, on Thursday, September 5.
The Imran Tahir-led side has so far played only one game in the tournament and has managed to win that game over Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. With two points to their name, they are in the fourth position and hope to register their second win of the season.
Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, former West Indies Test batter Leon Johnson yesterday confirmed to guyana chronicle com to that Pakistani opener Saim Ayub, who is presently playing against Bangladesh in a two-Test series, will not be available for the 2024 CPL.
Last year, the 22-year-old finished the CPL as the second highest run-scorer with 478 runs in 13 innings at an average of 43.45, and a strike rate of 142.26.
Only his Guyana Amazon Warriors team-mate Shai Hope was ahead of him with 481 runs at 53.44, and a strike rate of 140.23.
Ayub is involved in the Test series against Bangladesh, making 56 and 1 in the first Test which Bangladesh won by 10 wickets.
He scored 58 and 20 in the second Test, but at the end of the fourth day, Bangladesh are 42-0, needing 143 runs to win the two-Test series 2-0.
At the start of 2024, Ayub was given a surprise Test debut against Australia in Sydney.
In 2023, Ayub impressed in T20 leagues around the world, where he has played 85 T20s, most notably in the CPL.
Considered special enough to break the hallowed Babar Azam- Mohammad Rizwan opening partnership, he did not have the desired impact, and was dropped ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 after a litany of low scores.
Johnson, the most successful First-Class captain of West Indies domestic cricket with six titles, explained that the dashing left- hander has not been given an NOC by the Pakistan Board (PCB).
After his outstanding performance with the bat for the Guyana Franchise, he was named in the original ‘Warriors’ squad, and his anticipated presence at the top of the order will be missed this year. Johnson said that a replacement for the lad from Karachi has not been named as yet.
The ‘Warriors’, who beat Antigua and Barbuda Falcons off the final ball, will play their second in St. Kitts tomorrow from 19:00hrs, when they face off with the SKN Patriots.