Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 chief executive, Damien O'Donohoe, has dismissed suggestions that the tournament is struggling to attract high-profile international players.

The tournament, which is slated to have its second staging this summer, recently held its second annual player draft, with a number of international players being selected by the six franchises.

However, despite the drafting of players such as former England batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian David Hussey, the feeling among some observers was that the overall calibre of players could have been higher.

"I really disagree with the suggestions that the league is not attracting the biggest names in the sport," said O'Donohoe.

"Some of the biggest names in the Caribbean are participating, and with the likes of (Kevin) Pietersen and (Shahid) Afridi, they are players of the highest calibre in the format.

"There are a couple of other players that we would like to have, obviously, however, because of central contracts, that is not possible.

"But, I think out of the players that are possibly available, they are of the highest international standards."

top players

The draft, which featured approximately 120 international players, was without a number of high-profile international Twenty20 players.

The list includes Australia's Shane Watson, David Warner, Aaron Finch, George Bailey, James Faulkner, and Glen Maxwell; England's Stuart Broad, Eoin Morgan, and Ravi Bopara; and South Africa's AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn.

It, however, featured top players from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand, albeit in the end some were overlooked. Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, Tilakaratne Dilshan, and Mahela Jayawardene, and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi were among some of the players that were not drafted.

Sri Lanka are set to host South Africa in Tests, one-dayers, and Twenty20s between July 6 and July 28, while England are slated to host India in a similar series throughout the months of July and August.

Austalia are down to play a triangular series involving hosts Zimbabwe and South Africa beginning on August 25.

As it relates to Indian players not being part of the tournament, O'Donohoe said this is due to a policy of the Indian Cricket Board.

"The Indians, of course, would have been good to have, but they are not allowed to play in other leagues," said O'Donohoe.

"That, unfortunately, is something that we are hamstrung by and cannot do anything about."

The tournament will have as some of its high-profile international players Muttiah Muralitharan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaid Malik, Corey Anderson, and Brad Hodge.