Changes of stakeholders in CPL franchises; Barbados Tridents and St. Lucia Zouks renamed

Before the commencement of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021, two franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings – have bought teams for this year’s CPL tournament. Rajasthan Royals owned Barbados Tridents will be renamed as Barbados Royals and Punjab Kings owned Saint Lucia Zouks will be renamed as Saint Lucia Kings for the upcoming CPL season.

A subsidiary of EM Sporting Holdings, Royal Sports Group has acquired a majority stake in the Barbados franchise. Head of the Barbados franchise, Manish Patel said: “We are excited to have a new contract with Manoj and the Rajasthan Royals family. I hope it will help to improve cricket in Barbados and its environs.

“We are happy to sign this agreement with Manish Patel,” said Royals Sports Group chairperson Manoj Badale. He commented, “we want to express gratefulness to Barbados’s government. They have always supported us. We’re hopeful of making a positive contribution to cricket and tourism in the region.”

Barbados won the CPL in 2014 and 2019. The current captain of the team is Jason Holder. They will play their first match of the forthcoming season against St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots on 26th August 2021.

On the other hand, KPH Dream Cricket Pvt. Ltd has bought another CPL team, St. Lucia Zouks. They bought the Punjab team before the start of the IPL 2021. Then the name of Kings XI Punjab was changed to Punjab Kings, and in CPL, St. Lucia Zouks will now be known as St. Lucia Kings.

St. Lucia Kings has unveiled a new name as well as a new logo. Where the color of the flag of St. Lucia prevails. However, the brand name, monogram, and the lion symbol in the logo have not been changed.

Earlier, a CPL team was bought by another IPL franchise – Kolkata Knight Riders. The Trinidad and Tobago team was renamed as Trinbago Knight Riders after changing of ownership.

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