Kings XI Punjab take over CPL franchise St Lucia Zouks
The owners of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab have bought a Caribbean Premier League team. Punjab took over St Lucia Zouks led by Darren Sammy, thereby becoming the second IPL franchise to buy a T20 side in West Indies. In 2015, Kolkata Knight Riders purchased Trinidad and Tobago. Previously, Vijay Mallya owned both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barbados Tridents. Here's more.
"We are excited at the opportunity to invest in one of the most exciting sporting tournaments in the world, and we have been impressed by the vibrancy of CPL over the last seven years," Punjab co-owner Mohit Burman stated in a media release.
Led by former West Indies captain Darren Sammy, St Lucia Zouks is one of the six teams competing in the CPL. The franchise ended the 2019 edition at number five, having won three and lost six matches. After seven seasons, they are yet to register their maiden qualification for the playoffs. They will look to make a turnaround in the upcoming season.
St Lucia Zouks was the original name of the franchise when the league was launched back in 2013. In 2016, Stars replaced Zouks till the 2019 edition. However, CPL terminated its participation agreement with Royal Sports Club, LLC, the entity that operates the St Lucia franchise, in 2019. This led to Stars being redundant and St Lucia Zouks made a return in CPL 2019.
The impending edition of the Caribbean Premier League will be held from August 19 to September 26. Barbados Tridents won the previous edition of CPL, defeating Guyana Amazon Warriors by 27 runs. This was their second CPL title after they lifted the trophy in the second edition (in 2014). The 2020 edition could well serve as a tune-up for the T20 World Cup.
