(Trinidad Guardian) St Kitts will host the finals of this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL). After much negotiations with the T&T government, CEO of CPLT20 Damian O’ Donohoe announced Sunday that it was unlikely that the finals would be played in Trinidad.
It is understood that deputy Prime Minister of St Kitts, Shawn Richards, has confirmed that his government is close to signing on the dotted line and the finals would take place in his country.
St Kitts is no stranger to hosting the finals as it was held there in 2014. The other two finals were held in Trinidad in 2013 and 2015.
Sources say the T&T government was not interested in parting with US$1M in foreign currency at a time when the country has a shortage of foreign exchange. T&T was interested in staging the finals but wanted to pay the CPL in T&T currency, which the organisers rejected.
The 2016 edition gets underway tomorrow in Trinidad with the defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders coming up against the St. Lucia Zouks at the Queen’s Park Oval from 9pm. Tickets for the match are almost sold out as is the case with the other three matches in Trinidad on Friday, Saturday and next Monday.
On Friday, Trinbago Knight Riders meet Barbados Tridents and then clash with the Guyana Amazon Warriors the following day before taking a break on Sunday and returning to face Chris Gayle’s Jamaica Tallawah on Monday night.
After their home games, the Trinbago Knight Riders fly out to Guyana, where they face that country on July 10.
