CPL 2021: Brendon McCullum to remain unavailable for the season, TKR rope Imran Jan as substitute head coach

The fresh season of the Caribbean Premier League is all set to kick off from August 26 and will be played till September 15. It was going to have a clash with IPL 2021 but respective cricket boards sorted the timelines and now CPL 2021 will get wrapped up before the commencement of the UAE leg of IPL 2021. In the latest sequence of events, Trinbago Knight Riders Head coach Brendon McCullum has pulled out of CPL 2021 due to personal reasons.

McCullum has reportedly pulled out due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions and some other personal reasons. In that case, the defending champions of the league have appointed Imran Jan as their head coach for the 2021 season. Imran, who is a former Trinidad and Tobago skipper and West Indies A cricketer, has been part of the TKR group since the very beginning.

Dinanath Ramnarine joins as TKR advisor for CPL 2021

“The Trinbago Knight Riders, defending champions of the Caribbean Premier League, today announced a couple of changes to their support staff for the CPL 2021 season,” said TKR in a statement.

“Head Coach Brendon McCullum is unavailable for CPL 2021, due to personal reasons & COVID-related travel restrictions. Consequently, TKR have appointed Imran Jan as the Head Coach for CPL 2021. Additionally, Dinanath Ramnarine, the former West Indies player, has joined the support staff as an advisor,” the statement added.

All matches of CPL 2021 are to be played at Warner Park with 50 percent capacity

Talking about Dinanath Ramnarine, he has represented the Caribbean in 12 Tests and four ODIs in an international career that spanned from 1997-2002. The defending champions TKR are all set to play their first game of the CPL 2021 against The Guyana Amazon Warriors at Warner Park. They will be keen on defending their title and would put their best foot forward right from the opening clash.

It has to be noted that CPL 2021 will adhere to COVID-19 norms and restrictions where all 33 games will be played at Warner Park. The venue will only allow 50 percent of spectators to attend the match, given that they are vaccinated.