OPERATIONS Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Omar Khan believes that the execution of game plans and the elimination of mistakes during match days will be two key factors if the Warriors is to cross that final hurdle when the fifth edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League concludes on September 9.
The Warriors have been the most consistent team in the history of CPL cricket, but never managed to win a single title after four years.
They reached the final in 2013, 2014 and 2016, and were one of the semifinalists in 2015.

However, cricket enthusiasts may want to blame the captains, coaching staff or even the combination of squads, but Khan is of the opinion that once the Warriors could execute their plans, and at the same time ensure that simple mistakes are eliminated, the South-America based franchise can easily win its first CPL title this year.

“At the end of the day you can have all the skills, all the talents in the world, but is how you prepare yourself mentally for the big occasions. Finals or semi-finals are obviously big occasions, and it will put some pressure, but at the end of the day you have to ensure that you have all facets of the game in order,” Khan said.

He added “The most important aspect of the game is to execute the game plans and eliminate mistakes, and at the same time you need to focus on the day, ensuring that you are mentally prepared and have that belief in yourself to go out there and perform.

“If you check over the years, we played good cricket throughout the tournaments, but it’s just that final few games where we fell through, but once you can put those factors which I spoke about (execution of plans and eliminate mistakes) together, it could be a different result,” Khan pointed out during an exclusive interview yesterday.

Asked how important are the retained players in the Warriors line-up this year, Khan said “It adds stability to the team and to continued team moral, team togetherness, team chemistry; and you can only be successful once you work as a team”.

This year the Warriors have retained Pakistani all-rounder, Sohail Tanvir; New Zealand’s opener’ Martin Guptill; Australia middle-order batsman, Chris Lynn; Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder, Rayad Emrit; Trinidad and Tobago batsman, Jason Mohammed; the Guyanese trio of Veerasammy Permaul, Assad Fudadin and Steven Jacobs, and Trinidad and Tobago wicketkeeper/batsman Steven Katwaroo.

They have raked in six newcomers to their squad, Jamaican wicket-keeper/batsman, Chadwick Walton; Afghanistan all-rounder, Rashid Khan; ICC Americas opener, Steven Taylor, along with Barbados all-rounder, Roshon Primus and the Guyanese pair, batsman Gajanand Singh and fast bowler, Keon Joseph.
Joseph was called in as a replacement for the injured Ronsford Beaton in the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad in 2013. However, he did not play a match.
The Warriors will begin a one-week training camp on July 26. The squad will depart for Fort Lauderdale, Florida on August 2. During the Florida leg, the Warriors will play St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in two games before returning to the Caribbean.

Games to be hosted by Guyana are billed for August 17, 19, 20 and 22 at the Guyana National Stadium.
The host team (Guyana Amazon Warriors) take on the Jamaica Tallawahs on August 17 from 20:00hrs; Trinbago Knight Riders on August 19 from 12:00hrs; Barbados Tridents on August 20 from 18:00hrs and St Lucia Stars on August 22 from 18:00hrs.