Trinidad grab Ramnaresh Sarwan for Windies cricket league

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Bridgetown (Barbados) – Out-of-favour West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan was selected by Trinidad and Tobago to play for them from the draft for the inaugural West Indies Professional Cricket League, the newly revised first class championship which bowls off Nov 14.

Guyanese Sarwan was selected as a second round pick while Barbados all-rounder Raymon Reifer was chosen by Guyana as a first round pick Monday. They were the only two players chosen by teams based outside the territory of their birth as regional franchises chose to stick with their zonal players, reports CMC.

Of the 30 players chosen in the draft here, only two will play for teams based outside the zone of their birth. Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands all went for players from their territories.

Sarwan is expected to be a big boost to Trinidad and Tobago who open their campaign against Barbados at Queen's Park Oval.

A former Guyana and West Indies captain, the right-hander has played 87 Tests, 181 One-day Internationals and 18 Twenty20 Internationals. However, he has not played a Test in three years and an international match in over a year, because of loss of form and fitness.

He has turned out for Leicestershire in the English County Championship for the last two seasons.

"We felt having a player of the calibre of Sarwan in our side would be invaluable to our squad which includes a number of young players," Trinidad and Tobago head coach Gus Logie said.

However, there were no surprises among the draft picks. Former Test batsman, left-hander Ryan Hinds was recalled by Barbados after last playing a first class match two years ago while speedster Tino Best, who played just three matches last season, has earned a call-up.

Barbadian pacer Fidel Edwards, who has taken 155 wickets from 55 Tests, was overlooked.

Draft picks:

Guyana: Raymon Reifer; Rajendra Chandrika; Keon Joseph; Paul Wintz; Vishal Singh

Leewards: Anthony Martin; Gavin Tonge; Rahkeem Cornwall; Jacques Taylor; Lyndel Richardson

Jamaica: Andre McCarthy; Shacaya Thomas; Horace Miller; Brandon King; Brian Buchanan

Windwards Islands: Mervyn Matthew; Nelon Pascal; Lyndon James; Dalton Polius; Romel Currency

Trinidad and Tobago: Akeal Hosein; Ramnaresh Sarwan; Yannick Ottley; Jeremy Solozano; Brian Charles

Barbados: Tino Best; Shai Hope; Kenroy Williams; Ryan Hinds; Roston Chase.

--IANS/CMC

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