Five big names who are not playing in the CPL

The extravagant Windies franchise cricket league, the Caribbean Premier League, has, over the years gained as much popularity as Australia’s Big Bash League. With star international cricketers fighting it out in down-to-the-wire games, the league has only grown in popularity with each passing year.

The tournament is contested among six teams, each of which can field a maximum of six overseas players. Four teams make it to the knockout stage, from which the finalists and winners emerge.

While the world’s finest players often feature in the tournament, some of them are not playing this year, and their absence is sorely being felt. Here are five players who are not featuring this season:

#5 Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen was expected to play for the St Lucia Stars in the on-going edition of the CPL. But he instead chose to make a return to Surrey for the NatWest T20 blast, which is being held at the same time as the CPL.

The England cricketer appeared in the 2014 and 2015 editions of the cricketing extravaganza but pulled out of the 2016 edition to take some time off from cricket. The batsman has plied his trade in many T20 franchise tournaments including South Africa's T20 Challenge, Australia’s Big Bash League, the Pakistan Super League and the Indian Premier League. One of England’s greatest ever batsmen, Pietersen would have added more excitement and flavour to the CPL.

#4 Ab de Villiers

Ab de Villiers has chosen to dedicate his time to Cricket South Africa

South African batting stalwart AB de Villiers ruled himself out of this year's Caribbean Premier League due to international commitments. Playing for the Barbados Tridents last year, the batsman scored 234 runs in six innings at an average of 58, which is why his absence is all the more conspicuous this season.

Not just the CPL, the 33-year-old ruled himself out of almost all domestic tournaments except the Indian Premier League.

"You won't see me at Big Bash, you won't see me in any County game or any other T20 tournament around the world, except for South Africa and the IPL. I would like to say I am still very committed to South Africa," de Villiers had said earlier this year.

#3 Andre Russell

Russell's ban will get over in March next year

One of the most sought after T20 players in the world, Andre Russell, over the past two years, has plied his trade for seven different T20 teams, winning five titles in the process. However, due to his 12-month ban for violating WADA’s whereabouts rule, the 29-year-old will not feature in any tournament until March 2018.

He played for the Jamaica Tallawahs for four years and won two titles with them - in 2013 and 2016. He was in ferocious form last year, as he amassed 286 runs at a strike rate of 172. In addition to that, he claimed 11 wickets at an average of 19.

Surely the Tallawahs are missing his presence in the dugout.

#2 Chris Lynn

Lynn's persistent shoulder injuries have ruled him out of the tournament

Swashbuckling batsman and T20 specialist Chris Lynn, who injured his left shoulder during the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, could not recover in time for the Caribbean Premier League. Lynn underwent surgery recently and that will keep him out for almost the entire season.

“I was supposed to play in the Caribbean Premier League on Wednesday so I have had to give them the bad news. I will cost myself a bit (having to sacrifice the T20 contracts), but physically and mentally it will mean a lot to get it done,” Lynn said, confirming his unavailability earlier this year.

The two-time CPL champions, Guyana Amazon Warriors, have replaced Lynn with Pakistan’s Babar Azam.

#1 Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal has not been a terrific CPL performer but is an interesting character on the field

In the 2013 edition of the tournament, Umar Akmal was signed by the Barbados Tridents for whom he played six innings but scored only 49 runs. Two years later, in 2015, he plied his trade for the Guyana Amazon Warriors but once again managed only 49 runs, from seven innings.

The wicketkeeper batsman stepped up to an extent last time around for the Trinbago Knight Riders, for whom he scored 179 runs in 12 matches.

Although Akmal has been left out of the national team in the recent past for not meeting the team's fitness standards, he has continued to play in domestic leagues in Pakistan, Bangladesh and England. He is currently working hard on his fitness in order to make a comeback to the national team, which is why he opted out of the 2017 CPL.