(Trinidad Express) Last year’s inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) was a success with the public. But in an effort to reduce costs for the 2014 tournament, the player salary cap is likely to be scaled down. “We’re looking at reducing the salary cap,” CEO of the CPL Damien O’Donohoe told the Express yesterday.
O’ Donohoe said the move “hasn’t been finalised,” yet, but asked how much of a cutback was being considered, he said, “ten per cent will be close to what we will be looking at.” In the 2013 edition, players were separated into three groupings. Pool A featured international cricketers—14 from West Indies and 12 from overseas. Pool B included six international and over 100 regional players, a few of whom had represented West Indies, while Pool C consisted of Under-23 players. Salaries within these groupings ranged from US$100,000 to US$5,000. However, the CPL boss said the proposed change is “likely to affect the international players,” specifically but not those international cricketers from the West Indies.
Explaining the reason for the intended salary reductions, O’Donohoe said: This league is a multi-million dollar (business). It has been funded by Denis O’Brien and Digicel, so in order to plan, we need to look at ways of reducing costs and increasing and getting more support from the governments.” Asked how the CPL did financially in its first season, O’Donohoe said it did not make a profit. Asked how big was the loss, he said, “that’s not something I will be willing to share.”
He said further that a profit in 2014 would also be unlikely, “because the level of investment is so great…It’s dependent on so many variables.” Nevertheless, O’Donohoe said there are “a number of interested parties” contending to become owners of three of the six franchises that are still without full ownership—Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica. “It’s just a case of (choosing) the right partners,” he said. The CEO also confirmed that there will be no new teams for 2014, but he added that because of the interest of “a couple of islands like St Kitts” that are interested in hosting a team, the CPL might consider playing some matches at neutral venues. The second edition of the CPL is scheduled for July 5 to August 10.
