Trinbago Knight Riders retain six players for CPL 2023 as Dwayne Bravo makes a return

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) on Friday, June 2, announced that they were retaining six players ahead of the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season.

Skipper Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Jayden Seales, and Akeal Hosein are the star players retained by the four-time CPL champions.

Trinbago Knight Riders also confirmed that the league's leading wicket-taker Dwayne Bravo will return to the franchise after spending a couple of seasons with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots as their captain. Uncapped all-rounder Mark Deyal was also traded in by TKR from St Lucia Kings.

On the retentions and trades made by the franchise, TKR head coach Phil Simmons said:

"We are very happy to be able to retain most of the Caribbean players from last year’s TKR squad. The experience of Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and Nicholas Pooran coupled with Dwayne Bravo’s return gives our squad a very strong core. In youngsters like Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, and Mark Deyal, we have some of the best young talent from Trinidad representing TKR."

Simmons added:

"We’re looking forward to the remaining international signings, and I am excited by the player draft coming up soon to complete the roster and put together a strong squad for CPL 2023."

The overseas players and draft picks will be announced during the CPL draft show on June 30. The 11th edition of the CPL will be held from August 16 to September 24.

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How did Trinbago Knight Riders fare in their last CPL season?

Despite the presence of star-studded campaigners in their squad, Trinbago Knight Riders endured their worst performance in the history of the CPL.

The Kieron Pollard-led side could manage to register just three wins out of 10 games and finished at the bottom of the points table for the first time.

Pollard and Bravo recently finished their maiden stints in coaching with their former IPL franchises Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings respectively in IPL 2023.