In a major boost for all the IPL franchises, the West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed the complete participation of all their players for the Indian Premier League after 11 Caribbeans went for the big bucks at the 2022 IPL mega auctions that took place on 12-13 February.
The announcement comes as a relief to all the teams as questions arose regarding the availability of the players during the two-month window, with some reports suggesting that the Windies players might be forced to return for international duty.
The West Indies Cricket Board rechristened the Cricket West Indies, informed the media that the board has created a two-month window to let their players take part in the 15th edition of the IPL scheduled to start on March 27.
West Indies players in 2022 IPL mega auction
| Name | Winning bid | Franchise |
| Nicholas Pooran | Rs 10.75 crore | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Jason Holder | Rs 8.75 crore | Lucknow Super Giants |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Rs 8.50 crore | Rajasthan Royals |
| Romario Shepherd | Rs 7.75 crore | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Odeon Smith | Rs 6 crore | Punjab Kings |
| Dwayne Bravo | Rs 4.40 crore | Chennai Super Kings |
| Rovman Powell | Rs 2.80 crore | Delhi Capitals |
| Alzarri Joseph | Rs 2.40 crore | Gujarat Titans |
| Dominic Drakes | Rs 1.10 crore | Gujarat Titans |
| Sherfane Rutherford | Rs 1 crore | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| Obed McCoy | Rs 75 lakh | Rajasthan Royals |
With many Windies cricketers receiving high-profile IPL contracts, the CWI released a statement, which read:
“The CWI has allocated a window for the tournament each year in their ICC FTP and also guaranteed this to the players in their retainer contracts, therefore West Indies players are fully available to participate in the IPL each year. The IPL 2022 is slated to be played in April and May,”.
Apart from those who were purchased at the auction, there are quite a few big names on the franchises’ retention lists, including the likes of Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine. Such being the case, it comes as no surprise that the Caribbeans have the highest number of players in the IPL among overseas players.
CWI President Ricky Skerritt hailed the the tournament as one of the best tournaments in the world:
“I want to congratulate all of the West Indies players who have secured contracts to the various franchises in the IPL, which is the biggest and most lucrative global T20 franchise tournament. But I especially want to applaud those younger players who received their first full IPL contracts,” Skerritt said.
