ZIMBABWE cricket team limited overs skipper Elton Chigumbura will represent the Barbados Tridents in 2014 Champions League tournament starting next week after being named in their squad for the high profile Twenty20 (T20) competition.
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The Barbados Tridents will represent West Indies in the tournament to be held in India from September 17 to October 6 after winning the 2014 Caribbean Premier League last month.
Having qualified automatically for the group stages, Tridents are in Group B of competition along with Kings XI Punjab, Cape Cobras, Hobart Hurricanes, and one team from the qualifiers set for September 13 to 16.
Their first match is scheduled for September 20 against Kings XI Punjab.
Chigumbura was included in the Barbados Tridents final squad submitted to the tournament organisers on August 22 after the franchise’s three players Dwayne Smith, Shoaib Malik and captain Kieron Pollard opted to play for other teams.
Smith will be in the Chennai Super Kings set-up, Malik will represent Hobart Hurricanes, while Pollard is an integral part of Mumbai Indians.
The three’s withdrawal saw Tridents include Chigumbura, Sri Lankan opening batsman Dilshan Munaweera and New Zealander James Franklin to their set-up.
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The inclusion for the high-profile T20 competition comes as a huge boost for the 28-year-old Kwekwe-born all-rounder who is the current captain of the Zimbabwe one-day international and T20 teams.
He was initially expected to feature for Barbados Tridents during the 2014 Caribbean Premier League last month, but could not do so because of the national team commitments.
Probably the hardest-hitting batsman in the Zimbabwe side when on form, Chigumbura will head to India confident of doing well having recently rediscovered his form with the bat.
He scored two half centuries during the recent series against Australia and South Africa.
He scored 90 runs albeit a losing cause against South Africa in Bulawayo on August 21 before the match-winning 52 in the famous three-wicket win over Australia on August 31.
The Champions League T20 starts with the qualifying stage matches to be played in Raipur from September 13 to 16 with 12 teams.
The group stage matches will see the number of teams reduce to 10 squads battling out from September 17.
The semi-finals will be played in Hyderabad on October 2 while the final will be hosted by Bengaluru on October 4.
Barbados Tridents squad: Shane Dowrich, Jeevan Mendis, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Neil Mckenzie, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Rayad Emrit, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, William Perkins, James Franklin, Elton Chigumbura, Dilshan Munaweera
