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St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots face increasing challenges in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 as Sherfane Rutherford has withdrawn from the tournament for personal reasons.
This announcement came midway through their final home game of the season against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. A replacement for Rutherford is yet to be announced. The 26-year-old, featured in just four games this season, scoring 35 runs at a strike rate of 194.44. His absence leaves a significant gap in the Patriots' lineup, forcing them to use Dominic Drakes, primarily a bowling allrounder, in the no. 7 batting position against the Falcons. The Patriots are struggling at the bottom of the points table, with only one win out of six matches. In their recent match, despite a commendable effort from Sri Lankan wrist-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who took four wickets, the Patriots could not defend a target of 153 on a challenging pitch. The team has been unable to break their losing streak at Basseterre, having lost 11 consecutive completed games at home since their CPL 2021 victory. Patriots' captain Andre Fletcher expressed his disappointment to the home crowd, saying, "I must say thanks, but we disappointed them [the St Kitts and Nevis crowd]," as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. He added, "It's hard and I would like to apologise as the leader as well, saying sorry for not giving them a win on home soil. But all is not lost, we still have four more games left. We still have to go out there play the cricket and play hard and we will try to win the next four." The team also faces injury concerns with allrounder Kyle Mayers, who left the field after a two-over spell due to a suspected hamstring injury. On a positive note, South African batter Rilee Rossouw has returned to action after recovering from a calf injury. The Patriots have been dealing with multiple setbacks this season, including the pre-season injury loss of Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza and the unavailability of key players Wanindu Hasaranga and Tabraiz Shamsi. (ANI)
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