PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC-The CEO of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, says their decision to purchase a stake in Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel was the best choice for the organization.
Venky Mysore, also the Managing Director of KKR, says T&T’s demographics and financial stability helped them to arrive at their decision.
T and T have produced some of the leading T20 players in the world who have plied their trade in the lucrative IPL.
“When this situation came along and we wanted to get involved, we felt T&T was the best choice because of the demographics of the country as well as its financial capability,” said Mysore in an interview with the Guardian.
“T&T is a growing middle-class society so when the CPL contacted us we were quite excited about it. T&T has a connection to India and Bollywood and we felt it made sense to get involved.”
Red Steel is among six teams vying for honours in the third edition of the CPL which begins this weekend.
Mysore has promised that KKR, twice IPL champions, will bring its best practices to the Red Steel, including a winning mentality.
“We want to build our fan base and take KKR to another level. Our fan base is the biggest out of all the IPL teams,” said Mysore.
“We realize it is essential to build a brand and we can take T&T to another level. What we do in KKR will benefit T&T and vice versa. I think we will favourably impact viewership in India.”
Top West Indies players Sunil Narine of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica’s Andre Russell currently represent KKK while other regional players have had successful careers in the IPL such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Lendl Simmons.
Bravo and South African duo Jacques Kallis and Johan Botha will line up for the T&T Red Steel in this season’s IPL.
“Our intention is to come in and learn and not impose all our ideas. We want to absorb and meet all the new people,” said Mysore.
“There is a lot to like about Caribbean cricketers; we have the pleasure of having Narine and Russell at KKR. Players from the Caribbean play with aggressiveness and enjoy their cricket. They are tailor-made for T20 cricket.”
The CPL will begin on Sunday with defending champions Barbados Tridents playing Guyana Amazon Warriors.
T&T Red Steel will play its first match against St Lucia Zouks at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Sunday.
