CPL draft: Guptill, Simmons get best deals; Gayle among highest paid

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill and West Indian Lendl Simmons got the best deals in the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League player draft while Chris Gayle was among the other four players to negotiate $160,000 retention deals with their respective franchisees.

Guptill (Barbados Tridents), Andre Russell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Gayle (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots), Simmons (St Lucia Stars), Dwayne Bravo (Trinbago Knight Riders) and Sohail Tanvir (Guyana Amazon Warriors) will be the highest paid players with $160,000 deals in the Hero CPL 2018.

The player draft for the 2018 Hero CPL T20 League took place at Gfinity eSports Arena in London with many of the world’s top cricketers being selected for the Hero CPL 2018, scheduled start from August 8.

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Caribbean superstars Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, and Simmons alongside international icons like Brendon McCullum, Tanvir, Shakib al Hasan, Guptill, Hashim Amla and Shahid Afridi will be the star attraction of the six-team league.

Australian all-rounder D’Arcy Short is among the new names of the Hero CPL T20, while Jamaican star Russell returns to the Caribbean professional cricket league after a year.

The six franchisees had a choice to pick 18 players each from a pool of 227 overseas and 212 Caribbean cricketers – with the draft value ranging from $160,000 for the top players to the $3,000 for the 17th and 18th choices.

CLICK HERE for the final player list of all the six teams.

Also Read: Steve Smith to join Barbados Tridents

Sandeep Lamichhane, who in January became the first Nepal player to get an IPL contract ($31,000 /₹20 lakh from Delhi Daredevils) has also landed a Hero CPL deal now. He is drafted for $5,000 by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

The Hero CPL 2017 had an aggregate broadcast and digital viewership over 197 million, making it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Trinbago Knight Riders are the current Hero CPL champions.