Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 2026 CPL Preview
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Machel St Patrick Hewitt
2025 Review
Position: 4th (Eliminator)
Top runscorer: Karima Gore 219 runs
Top wicket taker: Jayden Seales 10 wickets
Two years into their existence, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons are chasing their inaugural CPL title having reached the eliminator last season.
Unlike some of the teams in the tournament it is harder for the Falcons to have a clear Antiguan identity. They only have four Antiguans in their squad, although it was similar last year and it proved no impediment.
A bigger question mark will be the effectiveness of their overseas contingent. Three of the signings have never played in the CPL (Muqeem, Singh and Kumar) while Shadab Khan and Kusal Perera haven’t appeared in several years.
Can such a transient squad achieve CPL glory?
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The Falcons won five and lost four last season and didn’t really have a lot of obvious stand out performers – it was more a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
To go one step further this season they will need to identify a few high value performers and match winners.
Banker: Jayden Seales BWL | £7.8m
Jayden Seales is yet to conquer international T20 cricket, but last season’s CPL was a clear indication that if he is given significant game time he can deliver.
He is a certainty to play throughout the tournament and get a complement of three or four overs. Last season saw him take his 10 wickets at an economy of 8.07 at a SR of 21.
With the addition of Alzarri Joseph to the Falcons squad expect both him and Seales to hunt in a pack.
Wildcard: Sufyan Muqeem BWL | £7.9m
The left arm wrist spinner is fresh off a good run of T20 cricket. While he has no CPL experience he was the top wicket taker in the PSL for the winning Zalmi franchise, an effective performer for Derbyshire in the T20 Blast and is currently gaining important preparation in the Global Super League for Perth Scorchers ahead of the start of CPL.
His economical wrist spin will set the tone for Antigua and of their overseas contingent he seems certain to play.
Young Gun: Joshua James ALR | £5.8m
The Falcons side does not contain many young players that are likely to start but the most talented of them is Joshua James.
The Trinidadian all-rounder can hit it long and bowl a mean heavy ball. He doesn’t waste time and if given a chance he will impact the game. The key for James is an opportunity and he did not get one in 2025. However the Falcons chose to retain him which implies they see the obvious potential in James.
Potential Starting XI:
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