(Saint Lucia Daily Post – March 19, 2025) – Born March 16, 2001to parents Samina and Cirus, Dhanraj Chaz Cepal was destined for cricketing greatness. Not simply because he was named after former West Indies player Ravindra Dhanraj, but because his love and passion for the game at a very tender age was evident. He began honing his skills at home, knocking over ornaments in typical youthful fashion and when the boundary ropes became too small, the Vanard court provided much needed reprieve.
Along with his brother Joshua, Chaz dreamed of becoming a professional cricketer. After the family moved to Babonneau, Chaz joined the John Eugene Academy where his dream was well on track. Competing from the Under13 level, Chaz would notch his first century at age 13. He would go on to represent Saint Lucia at the Under15 and Under19 level and the Windward Islands at the Under17 level, all while continuing to score at an impressive rate. Along the way he would join the Gros Islet Grassroots program and the Babonneau Under19 setup, in an effort to continuously fine tune his skills and fuel his dream.
But on a fateful morning of August 31, 2019, tragedy would strike the Cepal family. Chaz, who was on his way home, would never get there. His life would be cut short in the blink of an eye, along with his dreams and promise, as he lost his life in a vehicular accident. The young cricketer would leave a nation in mourning, along with his family and more so his younger brother, who himself bore the name of a famous Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Sacchin Joshua Cepal was now alone in his quest. Of course he still had the support of his parents, friends, family and the cricketing fraternity, but his biggest inspiration and example was gone. However, Joshua would muster up the resolve that he had gained from Chaz and determined that his brother’s legacy would live on. Whatever he accomplished in cricket from then on, would be to honour Chaz.
Fast forward to Sunday March 16, 2025. This was no ordinary Sunday. Not only was it a day of opportunity, as Joshua’s Babonneau team reached the finals of the Prime Minister’s Independence T20 Championship and were poised to face the heavily favoured Central Castries, it would also have been Chaz’s 24th birthday. Joshua despite the odds, saw this as the ideal way to honour his brother’s legacy. His prayer that morning was simple……win. He would scribe it onto his hand “one birthday gift”, a constant reminder of the mission and one which he would see through, knowing his brother was smiling down on him and being his biggest supporter.
Sacchin Joshua Cepal would be his team’s most economical bowler that day, finishing with figures of 1 for 19 from his 4 overs; an economy rate of 4.75 to help his team keep Central Castries from going on to make a massive total and finish their innings on 183 all out. But he wasn’t done there. After the dismissal of Quaine Henry, Joshua would enter the match with the score at 138 for 6, chasing a score of 184 for victory.
Still requiring 46 runs from 26 balls, Joshua would not disappoint. He just couldn’t; failure was not an option. As the light waned at the Mindoo Philip Park, Josh would put on a 30 run partnership with Larry Edward, of which he scored 14, including a 4 and a massive 6. When the wicket of Edward fell on 168 for 7, Joshua remained steadfast. The job was not done. Josh would accompany MVP of the final Sanjay Hale to 184 for 7 with one legal delivery left and one birthday gift delivered, fully wrapped in all its raw emotion. The mission was complete.
His father Cirus, rushed to the field to capture this moment. Babonneau did not just win the championship, Josh and Chaz won it. Chaz was there every step of the way. Etched on his brother’s hand, mind and heart. Another link in the chain had been added to the legacy of Dhanraj Chaz Cepal. The Chaz Cepal Holdings Knockout Tapeball Tournament continues in Babonneau just as the legacy of Dhanraj Chaz Cepal lives on.
