Guyana Amazon Warriors have appointed New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill as captain for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season.
He will take charge of a revamped unit missing the likes of champion off-spinner Sunil Narine and West Indies wicketkeeper, Denesh Ramdin who previously held the position of the skipper.
Guptill featured for Amazon Warriors in the first two CPL season before turning out last year for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
He is one of the leading T20 batsmen in the world, averaging 35 from 155 T20s, with two hundreds and 30 half-centuries – seven of which have come in the CPL with a highest score of 90.
Guptill, ranked third in the world in T20 batting, is preparing for his fourth season in the CPL, and third with the Warriors, and is the franchise's marquee player. The Aucklander enjoys a career average of 34.73 and strike rate of 131.44 from 61 games for New Zealand.
The 29-year-old said,
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It is a huge thrill and a great honour for me to be selected as Guyana Amazon Warriors captain for the forthcoming CPL season.
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Guptill's teammates include young Australian legspinner Adam Zampa, Queensland hard hitter Chris Lynn and Pakistan left arm seamer Sohail Tanvir.
Retired New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and pugnacious Auckland batsman Colin Munro will play for the Trinibago Knigh Riders in the league running from mid June.
This year’s CPL campaign will run from June 29 to August 7, with six matches scheduled for the Central Broward Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The move represents the first time games in the tournament will be played outside the Caribbean.
Guptill said he expected this development to add a new dimension to the already mounting excitement about this year’s campaign.Amazon Warriors coach, Roger Harper, said he was looking forward to working with Guptill.
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I have no doubt that Martin will lead from the front and his professionalism and passion for the game will spread throughout the team and drive us to success. I am excited about working with him as captain.
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