Which players will be the stars of CPL 2016?

The biggest party in sport - or the Caribbean Premier League 2016 - is underway, but which of the many superstar cricketers involved will make the biggest impact?

Reading the list of players who are playing the fourth season of the CPL looks like a who's who of Twenty20 cricket - AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Lasith Malinga, Chris Gayle are just four of the players who will be in action over the coming weeks.

For Unibet ambassador Darren Gough, one man stands out above them all, particularly as the most likely star batsman.

"De Villiers, the dream cricket player, the marquee signing," Gough says.

"AB de Villiers, Barbados Tridents' absolutely gun player, good off the back foot, the front foot, unbelievable inventive shots against the spin - a dream signing."

However, he is full of praise for both the overseas and local stars that will be smacking the ball out of the stadiums through July and into August in the Caribbean and the United States of America.

"The array of overseas talent at this year's CPL is fantastic.

"With the bat, look at AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Grant Elliott and let's not forget Brad Hodge, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan and then the local talent of Chris Gayle for the Jamaica Tallawahs. What a superstar!"

It's not just about the batsmen, though, and Gough identified some of the bowlers who may well end up playing a key role - and perhaps as importantly, told us why.

"Mystery spin is always going to be a factor in the CPL," he began.

"We've got Adam Zampa from Australia, we've got Devendra Bishoo, Samuel Badree who are fantastic bowlers, then we've got Sunil Narine who is making a comeback after his problems with his action.

"Then the seamers - Sohail Tanvir and Krishmar Santokie who have got experience of mixing their pace up.

"The conditions in the West Indies are normally hard to score on, the pitches tend to be slow except for Barbados which can have a little bit of bounce and carry so that's why the bowlers and and the spinners really come into play during the CPL and players seam bowlers that mix the pace up like Tanvir, Santokie and Dwayne Bravo are the type of bowlers that are really hard to get away."

So, now you've seen and heard what Gough thinks, who do you think will be the stars of this year's CPL?

© Cricket World 2016