St. Lucia Kings is one of only two teams in the Caribbean Premier League that has failed to win the trophy so far. Though, they have managed to reach the playoffs in each of the last 3 seasons. St. Lucia Kings finished 3rd on the points table in the last season but were defeated by the eventual champions, the Jamaica Tallawahs, in the Eliminator. However, they will be looking to come back stronger this time around.
Bet on the CPLJohnson Charles and Faf Du Plessis, who were the top two run-getters for the St. Lucia Kings last season, have been retained for the upcoming season and will lead a formidable batting line-up. Other retentions include Roston Chase and Roshon Primus, both of whom are capable all-rounders and can play an important role. Alzarri Joseph, who was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament last season, will lead the pace attack. The team has also secured the services of Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who has shown excellent form in white-ball cricket during the past year. The spin department receives a fillip with the entry of Peter Hatzoglou and Khary Pierre, the latter coming in from the Trinbago Knight Riders.
The pace attack is a bit of a weakness for the St. Lucia Kings. Barring Alzarri Joseph, they lack a quality seamer who can put the opposition under pressure. While they do have youngsters like McKenny Clarke, Jair McAlister, and Roshon Primus, they cannot fill in for David Weise, who has been left out. Also, barring Du Plessis, the team lacks attacking batsmen at the top of the order.
Faf Du Plessis
Johnson Charles
Dasun Shanaka
Alzarri Joseph
Roston Chase
Jair McAllister
Sikandar Raza
Peter Hatzoglou
Bhanuka Rajapaksa
Roshon Primus
Jeavor Royal
Shadrack Descarte
Khary Pierre
Leonard Julien
Matthew Forde
Kilmani Melius
McKenny Clarke
Bet on the CPLDu Plessis scored 332 runs in the previous season and was the second-highest run-getter for the team. He has only gained from since then, scoring plenty of runs in the SA20 and more recently in the IPL. Du Plessis is one of the most experienced batsmen in the T20 format and knows the conditions in the Caribbean very well. We are therefore backing him to be the top-scorer for the St. Lucia Kings this season.
Alzarri Joseph was the leading wicket-taker for the last season, picking up 18 wickets at a strike rate of 13.30. In his last 7 T20I appearances, Joseph has picked up 17 wickets at a brilliant average of 10.70, and seeing his good form, we are backing him to once again be the leading wicket-taker for the St. Lucia Kings.
Raza has been a regular in the T20 leagues around the world, including the CPL. However, looking at his recent exploits for Zimbabwe, we feel that he will be a key player for the St. Lucia Kings this season. His ability to contribute with the bat as well as the ball makes him indispensable for any team. He has scored 3485 runs in his T20 career and has also picked up 90 wickets.
A self-described accidental cricketer, Peter Hatzoglou is known for his peculiar bowling action. He has been a regular in the BBL and will be making his CPL debut this season. Hatzoglou has a wide variety of deliveries in his arsenal, including googlies and top spinners. His high release will help him generate a good amount of bounce and can be quite troublesome for the opposition batsmen.
Charles was the leading run-scorer for the St. Lucia Kings last season, scoring 345 runs at an average of 43.12. He trails Lendl Simmons, who is the all-time leading run-scorer in the CPL by just 12 runs and will overtake him this season to claim the record.
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