Despite decades of dwindling crowds, it's not what West Indies cricket sells on. But such are the demands of the times. There are measures aplenty to ensure that the protocols are followed and safety standards maintained, but also the apprehension of how it is all going to unfold.

All the 33 matches of the eighth edition of the tournament are set to be played in Trinidad and Tobago - a country which has witnessed 552 positive cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths till a day before the tournament. All the players, officials and administrators who are set to part in the competition have already tested negative for COVID-19 before entering the bio-bubble at the Hilton hotel in Port of Spain.

With several international players backing out of the tournament, there will be less star attraction, lesser traveling and no crowds. And yet, such is the state, that there will be no less buzz about the tournament. While it is going to lay the blueprint of what to expect for the bigger T20 leagues to follow - like the IPL and BBL - later in the year, it will also witness all its domestic star players (except Chris Gayle) in action, who even if rusty, will add the much needed glitter to the competition.

The initial set of matches will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba before they move to Queen's Park Oval for 10 games and return. On the cricketing front though, it remains to be seen how the big-muscled West Indian stars adapt to the conditions as the competition moves on. With all the games set to play at only two venues, pitches are likely to wear out and lower scores are expected to be the norm, especially towards the latter half.

There has been a lot of shuffle with several players not making it for this edition of the tournament and several coming in as replacements. Players have shifted loyalties and new captains have been appointed. From the outset, it is quite evident, that this edition of the CPL is going to be different. The question, however, is: is it going to be as entertaining?

News:

- The St. Lucia Zouks and the Trinbago Knight Riders began training from August 10

- Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Jamaica Tallawahs assistant coach, left the bio-bubble due to personal reasons on August 12

- Pravin Tambe, who will be representing Trinbago Knight Riders, became the first Indian to bag a CPL contract

Players who miss out

- Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik and Shadab Khan - who were part of CPL - will miss out due to Pakistan's tour of England.

- Rassie van der Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram and Fabien Allen have been ruled out of the tournament after failing to reach Trinidad.

- Alex Hales, Harry Gurney, Marcus Stoinis and Sunny Sohal withdrew from the tournament due to COVID-19 fear.

- Qais Ahmed, Rahmatullah Gurbaz and Noor Ahmed withdrew due to visa issues. Andre McCarthy and Jeavor Royal were withdrawn by Tallawahs as they came in contact with a COVID-19 positive tested person.

-Chris Gayle opted out of the tournament due to personal reasons.

- Dennis Bulli, who was in the Patriots' squad, was tested positive of COVID-19 and withdrew

Players who have come in:

Corey Anderson (Barbados Tridents), Mitchell Santner (Barbados Tridents), Shamarh Brooks (Barbados Tridents), Keon Harding (Barbados Tridents), Kissoondath Magram (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Jamaica Tallawahs), Jermaine Blackwood (Jamaica Tallawahs), Ramaal Lewis (Jamaica Tallawahs), Jahmar Hamilton (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots), Imran Khan (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots), Nick Kelly (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots), Roston Chase (St Lucia Zouks), Zahir Khan (St Lucia Zouks), Scott Kuggeleijn (St Lucia Zouks), and Najibullah Zadran (St Lucia Zouks) have come in as replacement players.

Format and dates

Each team will play against each other twice and the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals. Both the semifinals will be played on September 8 and the final will be held on September 10.

Captains

Jason Holder (Barbados Tridents), Rovman Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Chris Green (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Rayad Emrit (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots), Daren Sammy (St Lucia Zouks) and Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders) will lead their respective teams.

The news is transferred from Topcrickets.