In a significant change within the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), renowned allrounder Jason Holder is set to part ways with the Barbados Royals, his team for 13 years, to join St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (STKNP) for the forthcoming season. In anticipation of the CPL draft next month, STKNP has also made moves to bring in middle-order batsman Alick Athanaze, exchanging him for Sherfane Rutherford, who will join the Royals.
Holder has been an integral part of the Royals since the CPL’s inception in 2013. During his tenure, the team clinched the championship twice, in 2014 and 2019, the latter victory coming under Holder’s leadership. Over 104 matches with the Royals, Holder has taken 97 wickets, which includes two occasions where he claimed four wickets in a match. As a batsman, he’s scored 1,169 runs across 85 innings, maintaining a strike rate of 129.60.
Sherfane Rutherford, presently participating in the IPL 2025 representing Gujarat Titans, is set to join his third CPL franchise. His previous stints include playing for STKNP for four seasons and the Guyana Amazon Warriors from 2018 to 2020.
Athanaze, who has only played for the Royals in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, made his international debut in 2023 before appearing in the CPL. Throughout his 19 matches for the Royals, Athanaze amassed 344 runs, with an average of 22.93 and a strike rate of 106.83, achieving a solitary half-century.
STKNP faced a challenging 2024 season, finishing at the bottom of the table with just one win from their 10 games. In contrast, the Royals made it to the playoffs but were ultimately halted in qualifier 2 by the runners-up, Amazon Warriors.
The upcoming CPL 2025 tournament is scheduled to run from 14 August to 21 September, avoiding any conflicts with West Indies’ international commitments. Meanwhile, St Lucia Kings will enter the tournament as defending champions.
