Kings XI Punjab Owners Buy St Lucia Zouks

KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, the consortium that owns Kings XI Punjab, has purchased the Caribbean Premier League team St Lucia Zouks. Kings XI Punjab are not the first IPL owners to buy a team in the CPL. Previously, Vijay Mallya owned both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barbados Tridents.

Currently, Red Chillies Entertainment, who own Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, are also the owners of Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL.  Mohit Burman, one of the Zouks’ new co-owners, 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,” he added.

Photos from today! Present at the press conference were Mohit Burman, Chairman of the new ownership team, Pete Russell, COO of CPL, Hon Prime Minister of St Lucia Allen Chastanet and Dominic Fedee, St Lucian Minister of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting. #CPL20 #ZouksOnFire pic.twitter.com/BpIwnbnI8z

— Saint Lucia Kings (@SaintLuciaKings) February 17, 2020

St Lucia Zouks were a late replacement in last year’s CPL. They were called-up at the last minute in the wake of the axing of St Lucia Stars. CPL Limited terminated the Stars’ participation agreement on August 7, 2019 – just under a month before the team’s first scheduled game – and replaced them with the Zouks, as the team had initially been known before their purchase by Royal Sports Club, LLC in 2016.

The Zouks had a forgettable outing last season. Under Darren Sammy’s captaincy, they finished fifth in the six-team competition after managing three wins and six defeats. This year’s competition will begin on August 19, with the final scheduled for September 26.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab will be looking to break their trophy drought this year when the IPL gets underway on March 29. Kings XI Punjab are one of the only three current IPL teams who have not won the trophy. Their best result is the appearance in final in 2014. But since that year, they have not progressed ahead of the league stage even once.