SAINT JOHN’S, Antigua: Pete Russell has been appointed as chief executive officer of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Russell has been part of the CPL management team since the tournament’s inception, serving as the chief operating officer.
Russell has overseen the operational side of the Hero CPL for the last eight years during which time the league has grown in stature to become one of the most watched franchise T20 tournaments in the world. He has also played a key role in securing commercial partnerships, broadcast deals and building strong and productive relationships with governments across the region.
Hero CPL’s chairman, Richard Bevan, said: “We are delighted to confirm that Pete will be the tournament’s CEO. Having been so fundamental to the success of the league to date he was the perfect candidate to take on this role. Not only does he bring a huge amount of experience from within the business of world class sport, he also has an intricate knowledge of Hero CPL and Caribbean cricket. This means we can look forward to a continuation of Hero CPL’s success in the years to come.”
Russell will be leading the CPL team as they prepare for the 2021 tournament, which takes place in St Kitts & Nevis from 28 August to 19 September (emphasis ours), an official release states.
So what is one to make of the recent statement by Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt confirming (again emphasis ours) that CWI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the CPL are engaged in talks for a tweaked tournament schedule to accommodate the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The CPL, which was originally scheduled to commence on August 28, will now be played in St Kitts and Nevis between August 26 and September 15 (again emphasis ours), has been the media presumption doing the rounds.
“Both IPL and CPL are important to CWI, to our cricketers, and to fans. CWI’s role was to facilitate arrangements for a non-overlapping and smooth transition from one tournament to the next. Cricket administrators must collaborate if cricket is to survive the risks and costs of Covid-19,” Skerritt had recently noted.
It is really high time that the CPL officially put it out there if the 2021 dates are really being tweaked.
