Kings XI Punjab owners buy CPL outfit St Lucia Zouks

Kings XI Punjab have become the second Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise to own a team in Caribbean Premier League. KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the owners of Kings XI Punjab have purchased the Caribbean Premier League team St Lucia Zouks. Prior to them, Kolkata Knight Riders had secured the ownership of Trinbago Knight Riders.

Red Chillies Entertainment, who own the Knight Riders in the IPL, extended the franchise by signing up Trinbago Knight Riders. Previously, Vijay Mallya had also owned a CPL team – Barbados Tridents – besides the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Meanwhile, Zouks were a last-minute call-up to replace the barred St Lucia Stars in CPL last season.

Just a few days before the start of the tournament, CPL Limited terminated the Stars’ participation agreement on August 7 and brought back the Zouks, as the team had initially been known before being purchased by the Royal Sports Club, LLC in 2016. T20 World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy led them last year but it was a forgettable season. The Zouks managed just three wins and ended up losing six games to end at the fifth spot in the six-team competition.

“We are about to sign an agreement to be part of CPL. We are getting the St Lucia franchise. The structure and name of the company will only be communicated after we get BCCI’s approval,” KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“Mohit Burman (co-owner) is in the Caribbean at the moment to sign the agreement. We want to especially thank the Prime Minister of St Lucia Allan Chastanet and Tourism Minister Dominic Fedde for making this possible. We have been pursuing this for almost nine months,” added Wadia.

Hugely excited:

Pete Russell, Chief Operating Officer of the CPL, sounded excited with Kings XI Punjab’s association with the league and welcomed the new ownership. He also stated that the CPL officials are excited to see the impact of new owners on the team’s performance in the upcoming season.

“We are hugely excited to welcome this ownership team to the CPL family and we are looking forward to seeing where they take the Zouks during the upcoming season and beyond,” said Russell before adding: “They bring with them a wealth of experience which is fantastic news for both the CPL and St Lucia as a whole.”