THE DRU Bahadur steward Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) yesterday issued a press release expressing their happiness that the Government of Guyana, is on board with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 which gets underway in five months’ time.

The inaugural CPL tournament is billed for July 29 to August 26 and will feature six City based teams from Guyana, Barbados, Antigua, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Lucia.
Chris Gayle was announced as a franchise player and his fellow Jamaican teammate Marlon Samuels, who was on hand for the launching last Tuesday at the Sandy Lane Country Club, and will be one of the top West Indian players competing in the CPL T20.
However, while many would expect to see both Gayle and Samuels churning out incredible performances for Jamaica, that would not be so as the dynamic duo along with Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and energetic West Indies skipper Darren Sammy were named as franchise players and will be attached to one of the six teams.
At the launching, which saw the participants that included Minister Anthony and his colleague Minister Irfan Ali, WICB president Dr. Julian Hunte and Verus International’s Ajmal Khan, Samuels was asked to expressed his thoughts on the possibility of him representing another team and not Jamaica in the CPL, to which he said, “I am a West Indian…..”.
Below is the full excerpt of the GCB’s press release:

“In an article in the February 15 edition of Stabroek News, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports said that he is extremely excited about the tournament and is eager to show the organisers that Guyana is interested.
According to him (Minister Anthony), it is an ideal opportunity to develop numerous relationships that will benefit Guyana and its players.
With the problems facing cricket in Guyana lately, the GCB is delighted about Minister Anthony’s approach and is looking forward to working diligently with the Sports and Tourism Ministries to bring international cricket back to Guyana.
While the GCB did not participate in negotiating the Staging agreement which the WICB Signed with Verus International, the licensee for the Caribbean Premier League, the GCB is in the process of discussions on the RFP and MOU to be signed between the GCB and Verus International.
The Government is required to sign on to the Tourist Board Proposal and make the Providence Stadium available for the duration of the tournament.
Many Caribbean islands that built Stadia for the world cup have been submitting proposals to host matches in the CPL tournament and the GOG has already committed to the CPL which has the potential of boasting tourism during the six week window every year.
This is a tremendous opportunity for Guyana to build a tourism package around this event and Guyanese cricketers also stand to benefit financially from territorial contracts and development programmes.

It is envisaged that all arrangements will be in place shortly for Guyana to be a host nation in the CPL.

THRILL THAT GUYANA IS A HOST VENUE.
The GCB is thrilled that Guyana is named as one of the six franchises in the CPLT20, and is hopeful that some of the country’s young and talented players will be named and have a chance to showcase their skills and talent. Despite being one of the underdogs in the recently concluded Caribbean T20, Guyana made it to the final, so the country deserves the accolade.
The tournament will bring back highly competitive cricket to the country which was starved of international games for a long time. Such will revive the passion for the sport among the fans and enhance its standards in Guyana.
The GCB is hoping that with the minister’s optimistic approach, the fans’ excitement, and Guyana’s ability to be a worthy host, games scheduled for Guyana in the Pakistan tour to the West Indies in June can now be a reality as Jamaica has already been named an alternate venue.
The GCB looks forward to the same approach in negotiations to host Pakistan and return Guyana to playing at home in regional tournaments.”