MUMBAI: KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the holding company that owns and operates Indian Premier League franchise Kings XI Punjab, has added Caribbean Premier League team St Lucia Zouks to its portfolio.
With this acquisition, they become the second set of IPL owners to currently run a CPL franchise. Knight Riders Sports Pvt. Ltd, owners of Kolkata Knight Riders, bought a stake in the CPL team Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in 2015, and in 2016 renamed it as Trinbago Knight Riders.
Though financial details were not disclosed, going by a report in Mumbai Mirror, KPH Dream Cricket’s initial ownership agreement with the CPL is for 13 years, and can be extended for periods of ten years thrice.
The Zouks have been part of the CPL since the league’s inception making the playoffs during the 2016 season. They play their home games at the Daren Sammy International Cricket Ground, a stadium named after the man who has captained them for six of their seven seasons. Last year the Zouks team featured Sammy, Fawad Ahmed, Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher, Colin de Grandhomme and Thisara Perera.
Speaking about the purchase of the St Lucia Zouks, Dabur India’s Mohit Burman, the largest shareholder of KPH Dream Cricket, said: “We are excited at the opportunity to invest in one of the most exciting sporting tournaments in the world, and we have been impressed by the vibrancy of CPL over the last seven years. We visualise taking the franchise to the next level and showcasing St Lucia in the best possible light over the coming years.”
For the record, the stakeholders in KPH Dream Cricket are Burman (46%), the Wadia Group’s Ness Wadia (23%), actress Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (8%).
Pete Russell, chief operating officer of the Hero CPL, said: “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. They bring with them a wealth of experience which is fantastic news for both the CPL and St Lucia as a whole. During the 2019 tournament the CPL made a positive economic impact of $13,670,260 in St Lucia and this new ownership group will be working hard to see this figure increase.”
“I welcome the new owners of the Saint Lucia Zouks and hope that their new energy and drive will inspire the team to excel,” said Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet. “Saint Lucians continue to root for the Zouks and we are encouraged by the confidence that Mr Mohit Burman and his team have placed in the players and Saint Lucia. The government of Saint Lucia looks forward to working closely with the new owners to create a team we can all be proud of.”
