THE Caribbean Premier League has the aim of assisting the current and future crops of West Indies cricketers develop talent according to the Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pete Russell. Speaking during a recent press conference, the CPL representative indicated that they have been doing so by mixing some of the best in the world with some of the youths of West Indies cricket. Russell added that some of the players may not be performing on game day but are nonetheless great to trade stories with.
“Yes the guys (international) are not necessarily contributing on the pitch. Mahela Jayawardene is a great example. You know he’s struggled a bit with the bat but my golly he’s a fantastic bloke to have around, both in terms of the dressing room and just the young players being able to pick someone like his brain and say ‘well, how do you do it, what do I need to become better.’ So I’ve had nothing but good results from the guys about the Young West Indies lads.”
Of the international players so far, Russell noted that all have spoken of the basin of talent that the region has to offer and the vast display of commitment from the players. “What I love about the International players, and we spend a lot of time with them, they can’t believe the depth of West Indies talent, and it’s just about nurturing that, ensuring that it doesn’t get lost to other sports and that talent is taken through the system so we can bring West Indies cricket back to the way it was.”
He also noted the obvious difference in this year’s tournament, where the teams are more evenly matched rather than previous editions.