CPL eyes expansion

Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Head of Public Relations and Communications Peter Miller has not ruled out adding an eighth franchise to the annual tournament.

He has, however, cautioned that any expansion would need to be carefully considered, given the significant logistical challenges already involved in staging the tournament across the region.

His comments came during an interview with veteran commentator Joseph Reds Pereira as the series continued at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

This year’s competition features seven franchises following the addition of the Jamaica Kingsmen.

“Yeah, I think we made it pretty clear along the way that we were very keen for us to go back to Jamaica. Obviously Jamaica is the most populous country within the English-speaking Caribbean, so it’s an important market for us.

“But what we don’t want to do with CPL is we don’t want to expand to the point where we then have to contract, so it’s all about moving at a pace that makes the most sense. A lot of that comes down to making sure that you find the right people to buy the franchise who are interested in being in it long term,” he explained.

According to Miller, the CPL is unlike other annual franchise T20 tournaments because of the logistics involved in moving between countries.

“You are moving a TV crew, a central CPL team, and seven franchises, all of whom have 30 to 35 members of staff between nation states.

“So that involves moving luggage, equipment, visas, passport control, customs, all of that stuff,” he added.

Asked about the possibility of adding an eighth franchise, Miller maintained that sustainability would be a key factor in any decision.

“There’s a couple of ways that you can do it, I think probably what you would do is similar to what they have at The Hundred tournament, where you reduce the number of group games, make sure everybody plays each other at least once. But then potentially you only end up with eight group games rather than ten.

“So, you know it does become more complicated, in terms of how you make it work, but I think there are ways that you can try and make it as successful as possible,” he added.

While the tournament has become a fixture on the international calendar, Miller does not believe it is currently able to carve out a window in the schedule in which all other cricket stops, allowing all of the world’s best players to participate.

“I think you need to realize where you sit, there’s always going to be other international cricket tournament going on.

“I think the only tournament that will ever not be the case will be the Indian Premier League, which is at a scale that dwarfs every other T20 tournament,” he concluded.

(KH)