CPL 2016: 7 interesting things you need to know about the Caribbean tournament
The Caribbean Premier League 2016 kicks off today, with the Trinbago Knight Riders take on St Lucia Zouts, at the Queens’ Park Oval, Trinidad. The tournament promises to be a high-octane one with hosts of quality players including the likes of Ab De Villers, Faf Du Plessis, and Shane Watson, among others. A total of six teams are taking part in CPL 2016- Trinbago Knight Riders led by Dwayne Bravo, Barbados Trident under Kieron Pollard’s captaincy, Guyana Amazon Warriors led by Kiwi opening batsman, Martin Guptill, Jamaica Tallawahs led by the explosive Chris Gayle, St Lucia Zouks by Darren Sammy, who led his team to the 2016 World Cup T20 victory, and finally, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots led by South African, Faf Du Plessis. Let’s take a look at 10 interesting facts about CPL 2016.
#1 SRK owns a team in CPL 2016
In 2015, Red Chillies Entertainment, owners of Indian Premier League franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, purchased a stake in Trinbago Knight Riders (formerly known as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel). The team is based in Trinidad and Tobago and are the defending champions this year.
Knight Riders’ will be led by the likes of Colin Munro and Sunil Narine, who are set to make a big impact in the tournament. Narine has been instrumental in KKR’s success over the past few years, and can trouble batsmen with ease. Some may say he’s not as effective as he used to be before he got banned for illegal bowling action by the ICC, but Narine has adjusted well since, and will be one of the key players of CPL 2016.
Trinbago Knight Riders’ are one of the favourites to win the tournament and be the first team in the history of CPL to win it 2 successive times.