Injury-ridden St Kitts and Nevis Patriots sign Josh Clarkson in Sikandar Raza's absence amid CPL 2024 - Reports

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have signed New Zealand batter Josh Clarkson to bolster their batting unit after being depleted by injuries in the first week of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024, as per ESPNCricinfo. Clarkson could replace Zimbabwe star all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who withdrew from the tournament at the last minute due to an injury.

Clarkson has already proved his mettle in T20s, scoring 1673 runs in 89 games at a strike rate of 147.40. The part-time bowler has scalped 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.15. The right-handed batter scored 38* off 26 balls against Pakistan in his last T20I outing in Lahore.

Apart from Clarkson, the Patriots have added Pakistan-born USA player Mohammad Mohsin to their squad. Mohsin bagged 15 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.43 for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket (MLC).

Notably, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots won their opening game against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by one wicket, but lost to Trinbago Knight Riders and Saint Lucia by 44 runs and five wickets in their last two matches, respectively. Clarkson and Mohsin will now look to help the Patriots return to winning ways.

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“We’ve had few hiccups at the start of [the season]” – Malolan Rangarajan reacts to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots injury crisis in CPL 2024

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots head coach Malolan Rangarajan recently opened up on the team’s injury crisis amid CPL 2024. He told ESPNCricinfo:

"Obviously, we started off the tournament with an unfortunate injury to Sikandar Raza, who was a well-thought out and important pick for us."

"We've scrambled and we've tried to sign a replacement and we've had a few hiccups at the start of [the season], with Sherfane [Rutherford] missing out the first game and Rilee [Rossouw] getting injured in the first innings of our fielding. But I think the boys have responded brilliantly to all the challenges that've been posed at them," he added.

The Patriots will next play against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in their next CPL fixture on Thursday, September 5.