CPL 2016 has been a record-breaking tournament for more reasons than one. Not only has brought T20 cricket of the highest order to the USA but it has also produced some scintillating matches that have thrilled the audience.
At the end of the group stage, one of the pre-tournament favourites, Barbados Tridents, failed to make it to the play-offs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, who seemed to have one of the most balanced sides in the tournament joined them in not making the cut.
With the playoffs not too far away, let us take a look at who have been the best performers in the tournament so far.
Here is a look at the 5 best performers from the tournament so far:
#5 Adam Zampa
All it takes for someone to be catapulted to fame is to have something that not many do. As a wrist spinner in Australia, a land that seemingly has an endless production line of fast bowlers, the hype surrounding Adam Zampa was understandable. And after a good World T20 where he picked up five wickets at under 6, the expectations grew.
His IPL exploits fuelled them even further and he came into the CPL, expecting to take the tournament by storm. And with 14 wickets to his name and the most by any spinner in this year's tournament, the 24-year-old leg spinner has certainly done that.
Although he has picked up just two wickets in his last CPL matches, Guyana Amazon Warriors will be hoping that he can go back being as effective as he was in the early stages of the competition as they go looking for their maiden Caribbean Premier League title.
#4 Chris Lynn
In his last nine innings for the Amazon Warriors, Chris Lynn has been dismissed for under 30 just twice and only once has got out for a single-digit score. It is that level of consistency that has helped his side finish the group stage at the top of the table with more wins than any other team in this year's competition.
The 26-year-old Australian's consistency means he is the second-leading run-scorer going into the knockout stages of the competition. And with an average of nearly 50 and three fifties to his name in this year's CPL, he will be looking to continue his impressive tournament. One of the biggest features of his batting is his ability to nonchalantly hit fours and sixes at will.
With 26 fours and 24 sixes in this year's competition, only one player, Johnson Charles has hit more boundaries than Lynn in this tournament. And if he keeps it up, there can be little doubt that the Guyana Amazon Warriors will be favourites for the title.
#3 Sohail Tanvir
With his unorthodox action and his ability to deliver an impressive variety of balls that confound the batsman, Sohail Tanvir continues to be one of the most successful mystery fast bowlers to have ever played the game. His success in this year's tournament can be attributed largely to batsmen's continued inability to pick him.
The reason for Tanvir's success is obvious, as he delivers wrong-footed, by virtue of initiating the jump with his front leg and not his back leg like most bowlers. And since there are very few like him, batsmen continue to get confused and are still not 100% sure of how to pick, which is precisely why Tanvir has an economy rate just over 7 despite playing in over 200 T20 matches.
In this year's CPL, he has picked up 18 wickets, just one behind the leading wicket-taker and has done so at an economy rate of just 6.7 and a strike rate of 12.6. In seven of his 10 matches, he has picked up two wickets or more and has been the backbone of the Guyana Amazon Warriors bowling line-up, which has been so successful in the tournament.
#2 Johnson Charles
With fifties in three of his last four CPL innings, it is easy to say who the most in-form batsman in the tournament is at the moment. And if the St Lucia Zouks are in the play-offs for the first time in the tournament's history, it is thanks largely to their opening pair, which Charles forms one half of.
Although Andre Fletcher has been good, Charles' performances put even him to shade. After all, no one has scored more runs than Charles in this year's tournament and not only is he the only player to have more than 400 runs but no one has hit more boundaries (52) or fours (32) and only two players (Chris Lynn and Chris Gayle) have hit more sixes in the tournament.
With such chart-topping numbers, it is easy to see why St Lucia Zouks' opening batsman is at the top of the charts as far as run-scoring goes. And his side will be counting on him to help them make history once again.
#1 Dwayne Bravo
Going into the tournament, there was still a question mark surrounding DJ Bravo. While his exploits in the World T20 and the IPL that followed it showed that he is one of the finest death bowlers going around, his all-rounder stature was something that was questioned and rightly so.
But in this year's CPL, Bravo has not only continued picking up wickets for fun but also stood tall with the bat when his side needed him the most. A couple of match-winning knocks with the bat against the Barbados Tridents and a crucial cameo that helped them beat table-topping Guyana Amazon Warriors was proof that he still had what it takes to be an extremely useful all-rounder.
With the ball in hand, the 32-year-old was up to his usual tricks. With 19 wickets to his name, he is the tournament's leading wicket-taker and also has this year's best bowling figures to his name. He has taken at least a wicket in every match of this year's CPL and has taken two wickets or more in seven of the 10 matches this year. A couple more displays like that and the Trinbago Knight Riders will have another trophy to celebrate.
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