St Lucia Kings, on Thursday (June 6), announced the names of the players they have retained ahead of the upcoming season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2024).
The Saint Lucian team has decided to retain South African star Faf du Plessis and, at the same time, sign his compatriot Heinrich Klaasen. Both Klaasen and du Plessis did well with the bat in this year’s IPL which ended last month. Klaasen scored 479 runs in 16 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad and helped them qualify for the finals for the first time since 2016.
Overall, Klaasen has been in brilliant form in T20s this year. In 30 innings this year, the keeper-batsman has scored 954 runs at an average of nearly 40 and a strike rate of over 182. He has also hit a staggering 77 sixes this year so far. Klaasen is currently in America for the ongoing T20 World Cup and will look to continue his excellent run.
Du Plessis, on the other hand, led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the playoffs in remarkable fashion. RCB’s chances of making the playoffs seemed exhausted after losing 7 of their first 8 games. However, the team led by du Plessis won six games in a row to advance to the playoffs. With the bat, du Plessis scored an impressive 438 runs in 15 games with the help of four half-centuries.
St Lucia Kings retention for CPL 2024:
Apart from retaining Du Plessis and buying Klaasen, St Lucia Kings have also secured the services of Afghan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad and Namibia all-rounder David Wiese. They have also retained Sri Lanka batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
The franchise has parted ways with New Zealand batsman Colin Munro. Munro joined the team as an injury replacement last year and did well with the bat, scoring 175 runs with the help of 2 half-centuries. He was St Lucia Kings’ second-highest scorer in CPL 2023, but the franchise decided to release him.
Apart from releasing Munro, the CPL team also parted ways with Zimbabwean duo Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams. Among the domestic players, they have retained players like Johnson Charles, Alzarri Joseph, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde and Khary Pierre. In total, the St Lucia Kings have retained 12 players for CPL 2024 and need to sign five more players in the draft.
Players retained and signed for CPL 2024:
Heinrich Klaasen, Faf du Plessis, Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Noor Ahmad, David Wiese, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Matthew Forde, Khary Pierre, Shadrack Descarte, McKenny Clarke