St Lucia Stars Axed From Caribbean Premier League

In a shocking turn of events, St Lucia Stars have been axed from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Consequently, the franchise will not take part in the upcoming season of the league as the Stars. On August 7, CPL Limited terminated the participation agreement between it and the Royal Sports Club, LLC, the entity that operated the St Lucia franchise.

CPL, while announcing the big decision, did not reveal much details on why they terminated the team from the league. But the release did say that CPL were “in the process of establishing and operating a new franchise to be based in St Lucia that will participate in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League.”

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Jay Pandya, the chief executive and owner of Royal Sports Club LLC and Global Sports Ventures based out of Pennsylvania, expressed his disappointment over the turn of events. Pandya said that his party is not satisfied with CPL’s statement and also spoke on further action.

“We completely disagree with the CPL press release and will be working to address any issues the CPL may have in an appropriate manner and forum,” Pandya told ESPNCricinfo.

The news outlet further said that the franchise had several outstanding payments, which was one of the reasons behind its axing. The 2019 season is scheduled to begin on September 4.

The Stars never managed to go all the way in the CPL. Their best result came in 2016 when they finished third before losing the Eliminator to Trinbago Knight Riders. In 2018, they finished fifth among the six teams, with seven points from ten matches. In 2018, they had compiled a strong team with the likes of  Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard, Rahkeem Cornwall David Warner, Niroshan Dickwella and Mitchell McClenaghan being in the team.

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