Fabian Allen potentially ruled out of CPL after missing flight
Players have often missed tournaments due to injuries, national duties or personal commitments. However, in a startling development, West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen is all set to miss the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) after missing his flight.
Fabian Allen was to board a flight from Jamaica to Barbados - a chartered flight that had been arranged to fly into Trinidad, where all players, staff and officials were to be quarantined on arrival. Unfortunately though, Fabian Allen missed his flight from Jamaica.
Under Trinidad and Tobago's tight lockdown rules, nobody is allowed to come in or out of the country other than on chartered flights, which essentially rules Fabian Allen out of the CPL.
Fabian Allen's absence another blow to the Patriots
Fabian Allen has performed quite well with the bat in the last two seasons, scoring 337 runs at a strike rate of 181.18. He made handy contributions with the ball too and was a live wire in the field as well.
Unsurprisingly, the Jamaican was retained by the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in last month’s draft.
The franchise’s head coach Simon Helmot had tested positive for Covid-19 and will not be part of the support group. And so will be his assistant Malolan Rangarajan who who is going to be part of the pre-IPL camp of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Other Patriots squad members who will miss this edition include South African batsman Rassie Van der Dussen and left-arm spinner Dennis Bulli. The former could not confirm his travel plans in time and the latter tested positive for COVID-19.
The whole tournament will be played in Trinidad and Tobago across two stadiums and behind closed doors. The CPL will take place in a bio-secure environment with a series of stringent protocols in place to protect those involved in the tournament from the COVID-19 outbreak.