Caribbean Premier League: Barbados Royals announce men's and women's squads for forthcoming edition of tournament

On the back of the CPL 2023 and WCPL 2023 Draft which took place earlier today, Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Barbados Royals can now confirm their full men's and women's squads for this year's editions of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) respectively.

The Barbados Royals men's team had earlier retained eight players - Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Justin Greaves, Joshua Bishop, Nyeem Young and Ramon Simmonds - and also traded in West Indies' T20I skipper Rovman Powell. The women's team saw the retentions of captain Hayley Matthews, all-rounders Chinelle Henry and Qiana Joseph.

The Kensington Oval-based franchise returns to their home city of Bridgetown, Barbados after a hiatus of three seasons, and was active before the Draft as well, making four men's overseas signings in the form of South African duo Rassie van der Dussen and Donovan Ferreira, Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana and Dutch-South African veteran Roelof van der Merwe. In the Draft on Friday, the Royals picked up four men's players with recent West Indies ODI debutants - top-order batter Alick Athanaze and experienced pacer Akeem Jordan - joining the Royals family. U-19 talented batting all-rounder Kevin Wickham and wicketkeeper batter Rivaldo Clarke were also secured as new signings by the Royals, who will have a squad of 17 players for the season.

Meanwhile, the Barbados Royals Women have signed four overseas players in the form of experienced South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp, Australian duo of batter Laura Harris and spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, and Irish batter Gaby Lewis. The team will also see the return of bowlers Afy Fletcher and  Aaliyah Alleyne, who had represented the Royals last season. Wicketkeeper batters Rashada Williams and Chedean Nation, pacer Jannillea Glasgow, and off-spinner Vanessa Watts have also been signed by the Royals as part of the 15-member squad, along with emerging all-round players Trishan Holder and Jahzara Claxton.

"We are delighted with the squads we have been able to assemble for the upcoming season. Having strategically retained our core of players who have proven their mettle in pressure situations and demonstrated high value during last season, we have been able to acquire some exceptional talents through the CPL Draft, which will further bolster our squads," said Kumar Sangakkara, Royals Director of Cricket.

"Both the men's and women's squads consist of immense T20 experience, which we believe will be complemented by the young talent we have secured. The upcoming season gives us the opportunity to build on last season's results where both our teams finished as Finalists, and as we return to our home of Barbados, we are confident that this bunch of players will be able to take one more step towards achieving our target of lifting the trophies," the Sri Lankan legend added.

Full men's and women's squads for Barbados Royals-

Barbados Royals Men -

Retained: Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Bishop, Justin Greaves, Nyeem Young, Ramon Simmonds

Traded-in: Rovman Powell

Overseas signings: Rassie van der Dussen, Roelof van der Merwe, Maheesh Theekshana, Donovan Ferreira

Drafted: Alick Athanaze, Kevin Wickham, Akeem Jordan, Rivaldo Clarke

Barbados Royals Women -

Retained: Hayley Matthews, Chinelle Henry, Qiana Joseph

Overseas signings: Marizanne Kapp, Laura Harris, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Gaby Lewis

Drafted: Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne, Rashada Williams, Jannillea Glasgow, Chedean Nation, Vanessa Watts, Trishan Holder (emerging), Jahzara Claxton (emerging)

Barbados Royals Men will start their CPL 2023 campaign on 17th August 2023 against St. Lucia Kings, while the Barbados Royals Women will face Guyana Amazon Warriors in their opening fixture on 31st August 2023.