CPL: 3 teams with the most titles in Caribbean Premier League history
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will become the first international T20 franchise league to resume post the pandemic-enforced break when it kicks off on the 18th of August.
The competition, which features 6 evenly-matched teams, is scheduled to go on till the 10th of September and will serve as a valuable precursor for the international stars slated to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) shortly after. Interestingly, this edition of the CPL will even feature an Indian - Pravin Tambe, who was picked up by the Trinbago Knight Riders.
Click here to check CPL 2020 schedule
Ahead of the highly anticipated league, we take a look at its history. Shockingly, the Guyana Amazon Warriors have reached the final of the CPL in 5 of the 7 editions of the tournament but have never lifted the coveted trophy.
Only three teams have managed to win the CPL, and here are the number of titles each of them have.
#3 Jamaica Tallawahs - 2 CPL titles
After winning the inaugural edition of the CPL in 2013, the Jamaica Tallawahs finished in the top 4 in every season except 2019 and even claimed another title in 2016. They beat the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wickets for their first win, before blowing past the same opposition to clinch their second CPL in 4 years.
Many T20 legends like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith and Lendl Simmons have plied their trade for the Tallawahs.
For the 2020 CPL, the team led by Rovman Powell features T20 franchise superstars such as Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite, apart from tearaway quick Oshane Thomas, Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Although they finished dead last on the points table in the 2019 CPL, the Tallawahs can be expected to make the playoffs this time around given the wealth of resources at their disposal.
#2 Barbados Tridents - 2 CPL titles
The Barbados Tridents have also claimed the CPL title on two occasions. They defeated the customary final whipping boys, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, in both CPL finals - by 8 runs in a rain-shortened game in 2014 and by 27 runs in 2019.
The Tridents have also had some West Indian and overseas T20 batsmen turn out for them - Dwayne Smith, Shoaib Malik, AB de Villiers and Kieron Pollard to name a few. In the bowling department, Jason Holder, Ravi Rampaul and Shakib Al Hasan have excelled for the franchise.
In the 2020 edition of the CPL, the team will feature Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and West Indies' best limited-overs batsman Shai Hope, as well as New Zealand's Corey Anderson and Mitchell Santner.
The Tridents are the defending champions and will look to become only the second team to claim back-to-back CPL titles.
#1 Trinbago Knight Riders - 3 CPL titles
The Trinbago Knight Riders, formerly named Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, are the most decorated team in the history of the CPL with 3 titles to their name.
The Trinbago Knight Riders, who are co-owned by the company that owns IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders, have won the IPL in all three seasons that they have reached the final - 2015, 2017 and 2018.
They beat the Barbados Tridents by 20 runs, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 3 wickets, and the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 8 wickets respectively, and have also qualified for the semi-finals in each CPL season so far.
The Knight Riders have a stacked roster featuring the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons. They can also call upon the services of Colin Munro and Fawad Ahmed, and as mentioned above, Indian leggie Pravin Tambe.
The Knight Riders are the definite favourites heading into CPL 2020, and we might see them become 4-time champions.