CPL 2024: Saint Lucia Kings sign Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen

Faf Duplessis. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

The Saint Lucia Kings have confirmed the players they have retained and signed ahead of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) draft. They have 12 confirmed players for the 2024 season and will have five spots to fill at the draft in July. 

The Kings will feature South African superstars Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen who will give serious firepower to the Saint Lucian franchise’s batting lineup in 2024. The Kings have also secured the services of Afghan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad, Namibian seam-bowling all-rounder David Wiese, and Sri Lanka top-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa. 

They have retained the core of Caribbean players that helped them secure a fourth consecutive playoff spot in 2023 with Johnson Charles, Alzarri Joseph, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, and Khary Pierre all returning for 2024. 

Seam bowlers Shadrack Descarte and McKenny Clarke round out their retentions as the Kings look to secure their first CPL title in 2024.   

Talking about star signings of Kings, Du Plessis and Klaasen are coming from a full-fledged IPL season where both RCB and SRH made it into the playoffs. In fact, SRH played the summit clash against KKR but lost the encounter ultimately in a one-sided affair. Playing 16 matches in IPL, Klassen smashed 479 runs with an average close to 40 with four half-centuries. On the other hand, Du Plessis displayed commendable efforts to push RCB into the playoff after losing seven games in a row at the start.

The RCB skipper amassed 438 runs in 15 games, averaging 29.20 in IPL 2024. Both signings will be key for the Kings in the fresh season of CPL.

The full list of retained and signed players for the Kings are as follows: