By Rajiv Bisnauth

THE Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has confirmed that a stellar line-up of cricketers registered to take part in this year’s competition.Players from 14 nations have entered the Draft for the fourth instalment of the CPL which will be played from the end of June until early August.
Today’s announcement in Barbados includes the six marquee players who will be assigned to their respective franchises and all of the players entering the 2016 draft.
Five marquee players have been confirmed and those players are: Faf du Plessis, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara and Shane Watson. The other marquee player will be revealed ahead of the draft.
Some 289 players – 157 from West Indies and 132 from overseas – have been registered for the draft.
The 289 players do not include the six marquee players. Sixteen of the 157 West Indies players to register have already been retained ahead of the draft, leaving 141 eligible for selection on draft day.
This is 25 more than the 116 who vied for spots at last year’s draft and represents a 22% increase.
Coupled with an 18% increase in international player registration, this is further illustration of the CPL’s growing stature as one of the foremost tournaments in T20 cricket.
The list of West Indies talent in the frame for the six franchises this year includes stars of the calibre of Chris Gayle, West Indies World T20 captain Darren Sammy and Lendl Simmons. Darren and Dwayne Bravo are set to join the number one-ranked T20 international bowler Samuel Badree, as well as Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard.
Among the assembled overseas stars is a 34-strong South African contingent headed by prolific top order batsman Hashim Amla, leg-spinner Imran Tahir and fast bowler Morne Morkel.
Sri Lanka will have 20 representatives in the frame including legends Tillekaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga who will be looking to join their compatriot Kumar Sangakkara.
There will be 23 players from Australia in the Draft, including the experienced Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey and a further 11 New Zealanders, such as the likes of Nathan McCullum.
A seven-member Bangladesh contingent features Shakib Al Hasan one of the world’s finest all-rounders while seven players from Afghanistan are in the mix.
Pakistan will be the most represented overseas nation at the CPL draft, with 37 players.
Outside the Test-playing countries, the draft will also include players from Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and USA.
Meanwhile, the League will make a number of changes to its players’ draft format ahead of the new season.
The number of players that the franchises can retain before the player draft has been held has been reduced from four to three, while squad sizes increased from 16 to 17 for the new season.
The new rules also allow the six franchise teams to sign one ‘marquee’ player as a free agent before the draft process begins.
Further changes to the rules include a reduction in the number of players who must live in the franchise territory from four to two, while the limit on overseas players has increased from four to five.
2015 also saw the introduction of ICC Americas players, with two being selected for the Tridents and Patriots squads.
In 2016, at least six ICC Americas players will be guaranteed a contract.
Overall, the salary cap for each team has increased to US$780 000 from US$600 000.
CPL 2016 will give cricketers from across the Caribbean the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world.