We will be a real force with Gayle – Emrit

As the teams in the Caribbean Premier League finalise their squads following today's draft, one team that will be looking to turn around their fortunes and possible go all the way this season, is St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

The Patriots, who finished at the bottom of the table last season with just one win in 10 outings, have brought back the 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle to bolster their batting line-up.

This is not the first time Gayle has decided to go back to a team that he previously represented. The T20 maestro played four seasons for his home franchise Jamaica Tallawahs, winning two titles with them before jumping ship to the Patriots. He made it to the final in the year 2017 with them before returning to Tallawahs ahead of the 2019 season.

Gayle was also due to play for the St Lucia Zouks in last year's campaign, however, the 41-year-old pulled out of the tournament for personal reasons.

Captain of the Patriots for last year's tournament, Rayad Emrit, said he expects Gayle's inclusion to boost the team's chances tremendously this season.

"It's a good inclusion to have Chris in the side because last year our batting struggled and if we can get all the players together, then we will be a really good force," said Emrit.

The Patriots also brought in veteran Dwayne Bravo from the multi-winning franchise, the Trinbago Knight Riders. The St Kitts franchise has also snapped up live wire all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford from the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Two other Jamaicans will be in the squad for the 2021 campaign in all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell.

The other retained players are Evin Lewis, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes and Joshua Da Silva.

STAR Sports also understands that the franchise will be hoping to bring in South African batsman Rassie van der Dussen and fast bowler Anrich Nortje, along with Wanindu Hasaranga from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan opening batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

The owner of the Patriots, Mahesh Ramani, said he is pleased to have some of the core players back into the set-up and is excited about the prospects of the recruits.

"This year makes it extra special with us playing at our home at Warner Park, and I would like to thank all our team players, support staff and management, as well as our global fan base for their continued love and support. I look forward to an amazing season in 2021," said Ramani.

The 2021 CPL will bowl off on August 28 and run until September 19.