5 batters to watch out for in CPL 2024 ft. Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs
CPL 2024 will start in a few hours in Antigua. The new franchise of the Caribbean Premier League, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, will make their debut against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the first match of the competition.
Four other teams, namely Guyana Amazon Warriors, Barbados Royals, Trinbago Knight Riders and St. Lucia Kings will also play in the CPL this year. The tagline of the tournament states that this is the biggest party in cricket, where the sport is played louder. Fans, who have followed the CPL since the first season, know that the matches and the atmosphere at the venues have proven the tagline correct every time.
Speaking of CPL 2024, several big names of world cricket will participate in this competition. Here's a list of the top five batters to watch out for in the Caribbean Premier League.
#1 Faf du Plessis, St. Lucia Kings
St. Lucia Kings is the sister franchise of IPL team, Punjab Kings. Interestingly, IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's skipper Faf du Plessis is a part of the St. Lucia Kings team in CPL 2024.
Faf has been a prolific performer for this franchise in the CPL. In the 2022 edition of the league, he amassed 332 runs in nine innings, with his highest score being 103. St. Lucia fans will expect a similar season from Faf in 2024.
#2 Fakhar Zaman, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons
Pakistan's explosive opening batter Fakhar Zaman will make his CPL debut for the new franchise, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in 2024. Zaman has been a match-winner for Pakistan in white-ball cricket.
Shedding some light on his T20 numbers, the southpaw has scored 6,548 runs in 243 innings, registering three hundreds and 45 half-centuries. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his first CPL season.
#3 Rovman Powell, Barbados Royals
Barbados Royals captain Rovman Powell has a ton of CPL experience under his belt. He has played 82 matches in the tournament, aggregating 1,530 runs at an average of 25.08.
The batting all-rounder moved from the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Barbados Royals last season. In his first season for Barbados, he scored 193 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of close to 170. The skipper will aim to lead from the front with a similar performance in CPL 2024.
#4 Tristan Stubbs, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots
Rising star Tristan Stubbs has grabbed headlines in multiple competitions with his big-hitting skills. On his day, Stubbs can single-handedly win matches for his franchise in T20 leagues.
Stubbs has played in IPL, SA20, and The Hundred, but this will be his first CPL season. With a career T20 strike rate of more than 150, Stubbs is expected to set CPL 2024 on fire.
#5 Nicholas Pooran, Trinbago Knight Riders
Perhaps the most destructive batter in world cricket right now, Nicholas Pooran will don the Trinbago Knight Riders jersey in CPL 2024. The Knight Riders have a stacked batting lineup featuring Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Jason Roy, Andre Russell, and Dwayne Bravo.
Pooran is the most destructive batter of 'em all because of his ability to hit a six on any delivery. For the record, Pooran has a strike rate of 148.32 and an average of close to 25 in 103 CPL matches.