PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: The owners of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) are reportedly looking for the buyer for the tournament.
With the league expected to get underway in the first week of August, Guardian Media reports that talks are in progress with a potential buyer from India but nothing is concrete just yet.
CPL has been pumping money into the property since its inception in 2014 and is yet to turn around a profit but it has built enough brand and product value to warrant a potential sale at this juncture.
CPL chief executive Damian O’donohue had told local media prior to the 2016 tournament that CPL had already invested $20 million into the tournament, adding that even in the long term a realistic profit would be $2-3 million a year.
CPL already has a strong Indian connnect though Trinbago Knight Riders (formerly the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel), which is owned by the parent company of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders – Red Chillies Entertainment. Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Red Chillies bought into trhe tournament in 2015.
Then in 2016, fugitive former Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, former owner of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, bought into another CPL franchise Barbados Tridents. Mallya was said to have bought the CPL team in February days before stepping down as chairman of United Spirits and subsequently losing control over RCB.
Aside from having Indian owners for two of its six teams, the CPL also boasts Delhi headquartered Hero Motocorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler company, as its title sponsor.
